Türkiye’s third-quarter tourism revenue rises 5 percent to $25.5 billion

ANKARA

Türkiye’s tourism income increased 5 percent year-on-year in the third quarter of 2026, reaching $25.53 billion, according to data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) on Oct. 30.

In the first 9 months of 2026, Türkiye’s tourism income rose by 2.4 percent annually to $51.28 billion.

Of the total, tourism income from visitors amounted to $25.29 billion in the third quarter, while income from transfer passengers stood at $232 million. Turkish citizens residing abroad accounted for 14.4 percent of tourism income generated by visitors.

Visitors either organized their trips individually or through package tours. Individual travel expenditures totaled $17.11 billion, while package tour spending reached $8.18 billion in the third quarter.

The number of departing visitors fell 1.6 percent year-on-year to 23.26 million. Turkish citizens residing abroad made up 13.6 percent of all visitors, totaling 3.16 million people.

The number of visitors fell 2.2 percent year-on-year to 48.09 million in the January-September period.

Average spending per night by visitors was $107 in the third quarter, rising 6.7 percent from a year ago, while Turkish citizens residing abroad spent an average of $68 per night.

Average spending per capita by visitors also increased by 6.7 percent compared to the third quarter of 2025 to $1,088, showed TÜİK data.

Package tour expenditures accounted for 32.3 percent of total tourism income, followed by food and beverage spending at 20.5 percent and accommodation expenditures at 12.5 percent.

Compared with the same quarter a year earlier, health expenditures increased 23.6 percent, accommodation expenditures rose 19 percent, and domestic transport expenditures advanced 12.1 percent.

Visitors primarily traveled to Türkiye for travel, entertainment, sports and cultural activities, which accounted for 74.5 percent of visits. Visiting relatives and friends ranked second with 16.9 percent, followed by shopping with 3.7 percent.

Among Turkish citizens residing abroad, the main purpose of travel was visiting relatives and friends, representing 63.9 percent of visits.

Meanwhile, tourism expenditure by Turkish citizens residing in Türkiye who traveled abroad increased 22.6 percent year-on-year to $3.04 billion.

Of the total outbound tourism expenditure, $2.57 billion was spent on individual travel, while package tour expenditures amounted to $468 million.

The number of Turkish citizens traveling abroad rose 24.2 percent year-on-year to 4.2 million, with average spending reaching $723 per person.