Tourist spending on clothing and souvenirs declines in first quarter

ISTANBUL

Tourists visiting Türkiye in the first quarter of the year spent less on clothing, footwear and souvenirs compared with the same period last year.

According to data released by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) this week, travel, entertainment, sports and cultural activities were the main purposes of visits, accounting for 55.3 percent of arrivals. Visiting relatives and friends followed with 26.8 percent, while shopping made up 8.2 percent. Health-related visits stood at 3.3 percent.

Spending on clothing and footwear fell 13.8 percent year-on-year to $978 million, while souvenir purchases dropped 16.7 percent to $378 million in the first quarter of 2026. Last year, visitors spent $6.1 billion on clothing and footwear and $2.28 billion on souvenirs.

Accommodation expenditures rose 21.2 percent to $1.26 billion; health spending increased 18.4 percent to $762 million, and food and beverage expenditures climbed 13.7 percent to $2.6 billion. Spending on sports, education and cultural activities declined 25 percent to $104 million.

Türkiye's tourism income rose 4.2 percent year-on-year in the first quarter to $9.89 billion, with $9.69 billion coming from visitors and $201.9 million from transit passengers.