TÜRKİYE RISES TO 4th PLACE IN GLOBAL TOURISM
Türkiye, one of the world’s leading tourism destinations with its diverse range of travel experiences, has risen to fourth place globally among the most-visited countries in 2024, welcoming 56.7 million international visitors, according to the May 2025 World Tourism Barometer published by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UN Tourism).
As a popular destination for culture, art, gastronomy, cycling, and religious tourism, in addition to sea, sand, and sun holidays worldwide, Türkiye experienced a record-breaking year in 2024. The country closed the year with a total of 62.3 million visitors, including Turkish citizens living abroad, surpassing its previous targets of 60 and 61 million. In addition, the country generated a record $61.1 billion in tourism revenue. These figures indicate that 2024 has been Türkiye’s most successful year in tourism.
The UN Tourism's report showcases Türkiye’s steady upward trajectory in the tourism sector and clearly demonstrates that the country has reinforced its leadership in tourism not only on a regional but also on a global scale. Behind Türkiye’s tourism achievement is the country’s long-term strategic vision committed to turning the sector into a more resilient and inclusive structure with responsible and sustainable policies. Building on this success, Türkiye has set ambitious targets for 2025, aiming to attract 65 million visitors and $64 billion in tourism income.
Additionally, Türkiye takes bold steps to increase its product diversity more, to spread tourism across the country and four seasons and to showcase its tourism assets to the world. For example, to highlight its capacity to offer authentic travels across four seasons, Türkiye promotes diverse experiences in different regions throughout the year. On the other hand, Türkiye continues to develop various niche tourism segments, including gastronomy, MICE, sports, faith-based, cycling, cruise, and cultural tourism, to achieve product diversity.
Regarding cultural tourism and sustainability, one of the country’s key areas of focus is the preservation and promotion of its archaeological heritage. Türkiye dubbed 2024 the “Golden Age of Archaeology”, raising the number of archaeological works to 765. As part of the Legacy for the Future project, which extends excavations nationwide and throughout all seasons, the country continues to reveal a new artefact every day through numerous excavations. The aim is to increase the number of enlightening archaeological works to 800 by 2026. Türkiye also continues to reclaim its looted cultural assets from abroad. In 2024, the country successfully repatriated a remarkable 1,149 historical artefacts.
Further, Türkiye launched the Night Museums Project, keeping designated sites illuminated and open late into the night, last year. This year, 27 sites across the country are accessible for visits after dark thanks to the ongoing project, which has garnered enormous interest. Türkiye also ranks third worldwide with 577 Blue Flag beaches and sustains work to increase the number of Turkish sites on the UNESCO World Heritage List for cultural sustainability.