In June 2024, the number of trips made by Russians to Turkey increased by 6.3% compared to last year. However, resorts along Turkey’s Aegean coast saw a 2.8% decline in Russian visitors. For the entire first half of 2024, the total tourist flow from Russia to Turkey grew by only 2.9%. Experts caution that Turkey might fall short of its goal of attracting 7 million Russian tourists this year if the current growth rate continues.
According to Turkey’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the total number of international visitors to Turkey in the first half of 2024 (January-June) was 21,644,659, marking a 10.33% increase from the same period last year. This figure excludes Turkish citizens living abroad, who are counted separately by Turkey’s border service. Including them, the total visitor count exceeds 26 million.
The top five countries contributing the most tourists to Turkey in the first half of 2024 are:
- Russia – 2,688,924 visits, a 2.9% increase from 2023 (2,614,029 visits)
- Germany – 2,467,162 visits, an 8.7% increase from 2023 (2,270,127 visits)
- United Kingdom – 1,773,427 visits, a 19% increase from 2023 (1,489,304 visits)
- Iran – 1,442,165 visits, a 43.5% increase from 2023 (1,004,742 visits)
- Bulgaria (mostly for non-tourist purposes) – 1,390,527 visits, a 6.4% increase from 2023 (1,307,246 visits)
The relatively modest growth in Russian tourism during the first half of 2024 stands out. However, there are areas within beach tourism showing higher increases. For example, Antalya saw a 9% increase in Russian visitors compared to the same period in 2023.
Conversely, the Aegean coast experienced a decline. The number of Russian tourists decreased by 6.2% compared to the first half of last year (116,623 Russians visited in the first six months of this year, compared to 124,338 last year).
In the first half of 2024, the distribution of Russian tourists in Turkey was as follows: 52.6% visited the resorts in Antalya province, 4.3% went to the beach province of Muğla (main resorts on Turkey’s Aegean coast), and approximately 26% of the Russian tourist flow to Turkey was concentrated in Istanbul.
