Tourism in Turkey: Record Revenues and a Decline in Arrivals in 2025

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Turkey’s tourism structure is changing. Sector revenues have grown, while the number of arrivals from January to September 2025 has decreased. Russians, Germans, and Britons remain the largest groups of foreign visitors. Package tours still dominate, but individual travel brought in more revenue for the country.

In the third quarter, tourism income rose to $24.25 billion, up 3.9% year-on-year, reported the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK). Of this amount, $211 million came from transit passengers. Around 16.1% of total income was generated by Turkish citizens residing abroad. Independent travelers accounted for $15.98 billion, while package tours brought in $8.07 billion, or 33.6% of total revenues.

Between July and September, 23.64 million tourists visited Turkey (+1.9%). Average daily spending reached $100 per person, and average spending per trip totaled $1,017. Food and beverages accounted for 19.9% of all expenses, and international transport for 11.1%. Compared to the previous year, spending on accommodation increased by 17.3%, on food by 14.8%, and on health services by 20.3%, reflecting both higher travel costs and the growing wellness segment.



Leisure, cultural, and sports activities remained the main purpose of travel, representing 73.8% of all visits. Another 17.3% of tourists came to visit relatives and friends, while 3.7% traveled for shopping. Meanwhile, Turkish citizens traveling abroad increased their spending by 32.3% to $2.48 billion, with outbound trips up 3% to 3.38 million.



Over the first nine months of 2025, tourism revenues reached $50 billion (+5.7%), wrote Hurriyet Daily News. During this period, 41.6 million foreign tourists visited Turkey, down 0.9% from the same period in 2024. Including Turkish citizens living abroad, total arrivals reached 49.99 million.

Russia remained the top source market with 5.53 million visitors, followed by Germany (5.22 million) and the United Kingdom (3.54 million). Iran also showed strong figures with 2.3 million visitors. The leading destinations were Istanbul, which hosted 14.2 million arrivals (34% of total inbound traffic), and Antalya with more than 13.2 million.

In 2024, Turkey welcomed 52.6 million foreign tourists and earned $61.1 billion in tourism income. Authorities expect revenues to reach $64 billion by the end of 2025. At the same time, the country may see a shift in its hospitality model and spending structure. In particular,discussions are underway to reduce food waste — potentially affecting hotels with all-inclusive service and buffet restaurants. The initiative aims to introduce à la carte service to cut excessive food waste, which totals around 23 million tons annually.

By moving to an à la carte model, hotels would redirect part of their costs from bulk food purchases to kitchen operations and inventory control, affecting profit margins. For major hotel chains, this reform could stimulate format modernization, while smaller properties may face pressure due to the need for technical upgrades.

Tourism real estate will also be affected by new tax adjustments impacting all landlords. Parliament introduced a bill from the ruling Justice and Development Party to abolish the existing rental tax exemption of 47,000 liras (about $1,120). Currently, property owners earning below this threshold are exempt from filing tax returns, but after the reform, only pensioners, widows, orphans, and people with disabilities will retain the exemption. The change will effectively double the tax burden. In addition, from 2027, electronic registration of lease agreements will be introduced to curb tax evasion.

Experts believe this measure will increase property owners’ expenses and likely push rental prices higher. For foreign investors, it means lower net returns, especially amid high inflation and rising maintenance costs. With official inflation above 60%, expenses are outpacing rent growth. Higher taxes, insurance fees, service charges, and utilities reduce real profitability even for fully occupied properties.

Currency revaluation further weakens returns: when converted to dollars or euros, real yields decline, particularly amid the lira’s volatility. As a result, traditional long-term rentals are losing appeal, while investors are turning to assets with fixed income in foreign currency — from hotel apartments to projects managed by international operators. These formats help reduce exposure to domestic inflation and ensure stable revenue in hard currency.

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