Erzurum hosts Türkiye Culture Route Festival

ERZURUM

The nine-day festival will take place across 11 venues in the city. (AA photo)

The Türkiye Culture Route Festival, organized by the Culture and Tourism Ministry, kicked off in the eastern province of Erzurum on Aug. 15 with an opening ceremony held at the Erzurum Museum.

Speaking at the ceremony, Deputy Culture and Tourism Minister Serdar Çam said Erzurum was one of the most special stops on this year’s festival route, which covers 26 cities.

He noted that the nine-day festival would bring together art, culture and entertainment at 11 different locations across the city, with 174 events ranging from concerts and exhibitions to workshops, talks, theater performances and children’s activities, as well as 39 food stops.

Çam said gastronomy was the main focus of this year’s Culture Route Festival.

Highlighting the festival’s economic importance for host cities, Çam said Türkiye ranked fourth in global tourism in 2025 with 64 million foreign visitors, an increase of 2.7 percent from the previous year, according to United Nations World Tourism Organization data.

He said Türkiye generated $65.231 billion in tourism revenue in 2025 and was continuing to work toward its $68 billion tourism revenue target for 2026.