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 |
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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 | ||||||
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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. | ||||||
