So, like, Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, who is like a big shot in the tourism world, spilled some tea recently about the tourism industry in Turkey. He was all like, “Yo, last year we had like 4.8 million visitors in the first quarter of 2017. Fast forward to 2024, we hit 9.1 million visitors. This year, we closed the first quarter with a whopping 8.9 million visitors. We’re hoping for a 4.4% increase by the end of the year.”
Ersoy was all hyped about January, saying they totally nailed it. Then February rolled around with its 28 days, throwing off the visitor numbers by like 3.5%. And then March hit, and with Ramadan going on, there was like a 20% drop in reservations in some areas. Last year, Easter was in March, but this year it got pushed to April 20th, messing with their numbers again. April started strong, though. They’re predicting a 6% growth by the end of it.
The reservations are popping this year, surpassing their year-end average. The average length of stay in the first quarter was higher than expected. They thought there would be a 3.5% decrease for the year, but it was only 1% for the first quarter. The per capita nightly income also exceeded expectations. Ersoy was like, “We’re gonna focus on quality tourists as much as we are on quantity from now on.” And it seems like that’s paying off ’cause they went from $75 per night in 2017 to $116 in the first quarter of this year.
In terms of revenue, tourism is killing it in the first quarter. They made $3.4 billion in 2017, $8.9 billion last year, and now $9.5 billion this year. Despite fewer people visiting, the income is above the annual average. The average length of stay is longer than expected, and per capita nightly spending is above the annual average too. So, like, it looks like they’re on track for record revenue in 2025 based on the first quarter alone. Turkey hit its best first-quarter revenue ever with $9.5 billion. Ersoy was like, “We’re on track to hit our $64 billion revenue goal for 2025 if this keeps up.”
And that’s the tea on Turkey’s tourism industry according to Mehmet Nuri Ersoy. Not really sure why this matters, but hey, it’s cool to see them doing so well. Maybe it’s just me, but I feel like they’re really making moves in the tourism game. Cheers to more visitors and more cash flow coming their way.
