Turkish tourism industry suffers in 2020

Turkey Announces Tourism Statistics for H1 2020

Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry announced the total number of tourist arrivals to the country in the first half of 2020.

A total of 4.5 million foreign visitors traveled to Turkey in the first six months of the year. In the first six months of 2019, 18 million foreign visitors traveled to the country. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Turkey suffers a 75% drop in tourist arrivals in 2020.

With a normalization process starting in June, tourist facilities in Turkey reopened with strict measures to ensure safety and avoid the virus spread.

Turkey is one of the first destinations that certified with the WTTC Safe Travels stamp. Safe Travels stamp is launched by WTTC in order to allow travelers to identify destinations and businesses around the world which have adopted the global standardized health and hygiene protocols. WTTC Safe Travels stamp is also supported by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO).

Number of tourist arrivals to Turkey by Months & Years

 

Years

Change %

Months

2018

2019

2020*

2019/2018

2020/2019

January

1 461 570

1 539 496

1 787 435

5.33

16.11

February

1 527 070

1 670 238

1 733 112

9.38

3.76

March

2 139 766

2 232 358

 718 097

4.33

-67.83

April

2 655 561

3 293 176

 24 238

24.01

-99.26

May

3 678 440

4 022 254

 29 829

9.35

-99.26

June

4 505 594

5 318 984

 214 768

18.05

-95.96

July

5 671 801

6 617 380

 

16.67

 

August

5 383 332

6 307 508

 

17.17

 

September

4 792 818

5 426 818

 

13.23

 

October

3 755 467

4 291 574

 

14.28

 

November

1 966 277

2 190 622

 

11.41

 

December

1 950 705

2 147 878

 

10.11

 

TOTAL

39 488 401

45 058 286

 

14.11

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6 MONTHS TOTAL

15 968 001

18 076 506

4 507 479

13.20

-75.06

(*): Provisional data

 

Istanbul continued to be Turkey’s top tourist draw, attracting nearly 53.7% of foreign visitors – around 2.4 million in June 2020.

The Top 5 City that Tourists Entered Country

1-Istanbul %53,73 (2 421 818 )
2-Edirne %14,08 (634 721 )
3-Antalya %9,86 (444 227 )
4-Artvin %8,05 (362 935 )
5-Ankara %1,99 (89 620 )

 

Top 5 Country that Visits Turkey In The First Half of the Year – 2018-2020

 

           

COUNTRIES

2020*

2020 Nationality Percentage %

2019

2019 Nationality Percentage %

2018

2018 Nationality Percentage %

Bulgaria

 421 416

9.35

1 236 280

6.84

 987 957

6.19

Germany

 420 360

9.33

1 802 365

9.97

1 560 251

9.77

Georgia

 337 939

7.50

 857 888

4.75

1 049 026

6.57

Russian Fed.

 322 058

7.14

2 709 397

14.99

2 378 439

14.90

Iran

 225 858

5.01

 882 146

4.88

1 142 111

7.15

OTHER

2 779 848

61.67

10 588 430

58.58

8 850 217

55.42

GEN. TOTAL

4 507 479

100.00

18 076 506

100.00

15 968 001

100.00

(*): Provisional Data.

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