Tourism should not only be seen as an industry that brings foreign currency into the country through incoming tourists. It also contributes to employment opportunities, environmental preservation, and cultural exchange. Summer is a very important season for tourism professionals. Turkey also holds a significant share in this sector. Therefore, in today’s program, we will discuss the statistics and figures of the tourism industry in Turkey for the current year.

Despite all the negative developments in the region, Turkey has held a new general election and has demonstrated its strong economic, political, and democratic foundations. Since tourism is highly sensitive to political stability and social security, the increase in the number of tourists visiting Turkey indicates growing confidence in the country. However, due to the internal problems faced by Arab countries and Russia, a decrease in tourist numbers from these regions is quite natural. On the other hand, Turkey competes in the tourism industry with countries like Greece and Spain, which are struggling with severe economic crises and have drastically lowered their prices to attract foreign tourists and increase revenue. Therefore, it was expected that this year would be very challenging for Turkey. Yet, the rise in the number of tourists arriving in the country this year shows that the situation is turning in Turkey’s favor.

Başaran Ulusoy, the President of the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies, stated:

"Despite all the adversities and instabilities in neighboring countries, Turkey’s tourism sector has successfully completed this year as well. According to evaluations made by the United Nations World Tourism Organization, Turkey ranked sixth in the world in 2014 in terms of the number of tourist arrivals and twelfth in terms of tourism revenue."

Başaran Ulusoy also noted that tourism income accounted for 21.8% of export revenues and helped cover 40.6% of the trade deficit.

In the tourism sector, domestic tourists should not be overlooked alongside foreign tourists. Domestic and international travel is very important for enhancing cultural exchange and gaining new experiences. Moreover, domestic tourists are the main contributors to the financial stability of tourism companies.