Minister of Culture and Tourism Ersoy stated that early booking data is very positive. Ersoy announced their target of 65 million visitors and 64 billion dollars in revenue by 2025. Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy revealed the latest developments in the tourism sector and the goals for 2025. Speaking at a conference at ITB Berlin, one of the most significant events in world tourism, Minister Ersoy highlighted the goal for 2025 of 65 million visitors and 64 billion dollars in revenue. Minister Ersoy also mentioned that the average nightly income per person increased from $83 in 2017 to $108 in 2024, representing a 31% increase.

Regarding tourist source markets, Minister Ersoy stated that in 2024, Turkey received 6.7 million visitors from Russia, 6.6 million from Germany, and 4.4 million from the UK, ranking third. Ersoy emphasized the strong early booking data coming from Germany and Russia, expressing expectations of over 7 million visitors from both markets by the end of 2025. He also predicted that the number of visitors from the UK would reach 4.8 million in 2025.

Ersoy highlighted that efforts are being made to spread tourism throughout the year and to promote tourism to all 81 provinces of Turkey through gastronomy, cultural heritage, and alternative tourism products. He noted that projects such as archaeological excavations and night museums have received great interest. Ersoy stated, “We aim to complete a task in the next 4 years equivalent to the excavation works carried out within the past 60 years.”

Discussing developments in distant markets such as the US and China, Minister Ersoy mentioned that there was an over 60% growth in the Chinese market last year. He also pointed out a 20% growth in the US market. Ersoy added that in line with the target of welcoming 100 million visitors and generating 100 billion dollars in revenue in the future, there is a need to increase air travel capacity.