Turkish tourism bounces back as foreigners return

By Tuba Sahin

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey’s tourism income rose year-on-year in the second quarter of 2017, Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) said Monday.

Turkey earned more than $5.4 billion from April to June, up by almost 9 percent compared to the same period last year, according to the data.

TurkStat said that 81.3 percent of the income (excluding GSM roaming and marina service expenditures) was received from foreign visitors while the rest came from Turkish expats.

The number of visitors who left Turkey in the first quarter reached nearly 8.9 million, an 18.3 percent increase when compared to the same period last year.

Of them 7.7 million were foreign visitors, who made up 86.6 percent of the tourists who departed from Turkey in the first quarter, Turkstat added.

Nearly 1.2 million Turkish expats also left Turkey in the first quarter, making for 13.4 percent of the foreign visitors.

The average expenditure of foreign visitors stood at $570 per capita for the quarter, the data added.

The number of Turkish citizens traveling abroad increased by almost 13 percent in the same period, reaching 2.3 million people. They spent an average of $604 per capita.

“Tourism expenditure of Turkish citizens who went abroad reduced by 8.2 percent compared to the same quarter the previous year. It declined to nearly $1.4 billion,” TurkStat said.