Turkey’s Key Tourism Markets Show Decline in the First Seven Months of 2025

The Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism has released tourism statistics for the first seven months of 2025, and the data reveals a notable decline in visitor numbers from some of Turkey’s most important source markets, including Germany, the UK, and Russia.

Visitor Numbers Drop in July and Overall

According to official figures, Turkey welcomed 6.97 million visitors in July 2025 — a 4.97% decrease compared to the same month in 2024. For the January–July period, total foreign arrivals dropped by 2.10%, totaling 28.37 million. When adding 4.99 million Turkish citizens residing abroad who visited in the first six months, the total number of visitors rises to 33.36 million.

European and OECD Markets Decline

Visitor numbers from European OECD countries fell by 1.06% compared to the same period last year, reaching 11.45 million. Germany, typically one of Turkey’s strongest markets, sent 3.4 million visitors — a 2.90% decrease — making it the second-largest source market so far this year.

While countries like Austria (up 3.12%), Italy (up 20.44%), and Poland (up 2.58%) recorded increases in visitor numbers, others posted declines. Belgium saw a 2.50% drop, France fell by 0.72%, the Netherlands dropped 3.46%, the UK declined 3.45%, and Greece saw a significant 13.09% decrease in visitors to Turkey.

Decline from CIS Countries, Mixed Trends in Others

From the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), arrivals fell by 2.04%, totaling 6.82 million visitors. Russia, still Turkey’s top tourist source despite a 1.33% drop, sent 3.56 million tourists in the first six months. Ukraine, in contrast, showed a 6.14% increase, with 557,000 arrivals.

Outside of Europe and the CIS, several markets showed growth. The US sent 795,000 tourists (up 3.10%), Japan saw a remarkable 29.82% increase with 86,000 visitors, South Korea increased by 6.19%, and China grew marginally by 0.18%. Iran, however, dropped 8.05% to 1.61 million visitors. India, amid a travel boycott, sent 155,000 tourists — a sharp 19.55% decrease.

Sharp Drops from Gulf Countries

Visitor numbers from the Gulf region continued to decline. Bahrain fell 22.57%, the UAE 6.32%, Qatar 12.76%, Kuwait 27.96%, Lebanon 18.90%, Saudi Arabia 1.25%, Jordan 16.43%, and Yemen 10.49%.

Interestingly, some regional countries showed surprising increases. Iraq saw a 7.42% rise with 550,000 visitors, while arrivals from Israel soared 37.90% to 62,000.

A Challenging Summer for Turkish Tourism

While Turkey remains a top global travel destination, the early 2025 tourism figures suggest headwinds for the sector. Declines from major source markets like Germany, the UK, and Russia highlight growing competition, shifting travel trends, and possibly geopolitical or economic factors. Tourism stakeholders will be closely watching the rest of the year to see if these trends reverse or continue into the fall season.