Türkiye sees record $61B tourism revenue in 2024 as arrivals hit 52.6M

By Tuba Ongun

ANKARA (AA) – Türkiye hosted 52.6 million international tourists in 2024, marking a 7% rise from the previous year, as the country's booming tourism industry set a new income record of $61.1 billion, official data showed Friday.

Istanbul, Türkiye’s most populous city, remained the top destination for international tourists, drawing 18.6 million visitors last year.

The famed resort city of Antalya on the Turkish Riviera ranked second, welcoming 15.9 million foreign visitors in 2024.

The northwestern province of Edirne, which borders both Bulgaria and Greece, followed with 4.8 million visitors, while the Aegean province of Mugla attracted 3.7 million.

Russians accounted for 12.8% of all foreign arrivals, totaling 6.7 million -- an annual increase of 6%.

They were followed by Germans at 6.6 million (up 6.9% year-on-year), Britons at 4.4 million (up 16.7%), Iranians at 3.2 million (up 30.9%), and Bulgarians at 2.9 million (up 0.9%).

Separate data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) showed that Türkiye’s tourism revenue surged 18.3% year-on-year to a historic high of $61.1 billion in 2024.