Türkiye welcomed a total of 34.83 million foreign visitors in the January-August period, down 1.84 percent from a year earlier, according to data from the Culture and Tourism Ministry on Sept. 25.
In August alone, the number of foreign visitors edged down 0.03 percent year-on-year to 6.96 million.
Russia remained the largest source market during the first eight months of the year, with 4.72 million visitors accounting for 13.55 percent of total arrivals. Germany ranked second with 4.39 million visitors and a 12.61 percent share, followed by the United Kingdom with 2.71 million visitors, representing 7.79 percent of the total.
Iran was the fourth-largest source market, sending 1.91 million visitors to Türkiye during the period, while Bulgaria ranked fifth with 1.74 million visitors.
Compared with the same period of 2025, arrivals from Russia increased from 4.55 million to 4.72 million, while visitor numbers from Germany edged slightly lower from 4.4 million to 4.39 million. The United Kingdom, Iran and Bulgaria all recorded declines.
Visitors from the Gulf countries declined in the January-August period of 2026 compared with the same period a year earlier.
The sharpest decline was recorded in arrivals from Kuwait, which fell 43.5 percent year-on-year to 92,354 visitors.
Visitor numbers from Bahrain dropped 34.6 percent to 23,832, while arrivals from the United Arab Emirates decreased 32.1 percent to 45,833.
Türkiye also welcomed fewer visitors from Qatar, with arrivals declining 26.1 percent year-on-year to 28,524.
Saudi Arabia remained the largest source market among the five Gulf countries, despite an 11.1 percent decline in visitor numbers to 612,038 from 688,040 in the January-August period of 2025.
Istanbul was the most visited destination in Türkiye in January-August, attracting 12.47 million foreign visitors and accounting for 35.82 percent of total arrivals.
Antalya ranked second with 10.28 million visitors, while Edirne, Muğla and İzmir completed the top five destinations.
In August, Antalya was the most visited province, welcoming 2.52 million foreign visitors and capturing a 36.24 percent share of total arrivals.
Istanbul followed with 1.93 million visitors, while Muğla ranked third with 642,849 visitors. Edirne and İzmir rounded out the top five with 485,468 and 240,212 visitors, respectively.
