Turkey Welcomes 8,9 Million Tourists in Q1

Turkey

2025 Culture Route Festival Promises World-Class Highlights.

Turkey welcomed 8.9 million international visitors in the first quarter of 2025, Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy announced at a press conference held at the Atatürk Cultural Center in Istanbul. For the full year, the government projects a 4.4% increase in tourist arrivals compared to 2024, when Turkey recorded 62.3 million visitors and USD 61.1 billion in tourism revenue.

Minister Ersoy emphasized a strategic realignment in tourism policy since 2018, shifting focus from volume to value. "We are targeting travelers who spend beyond accommodation," he stated. The average revenue per overnight stay rose to USD 116 in Q1 2025, up from USD 108 in the same period last year.

While calendar-related effects—such as February’s shorter length, Ramadan in March, and a late Easter—temporarily impacted arrival figures, April began on a strong note, with an expected 6% year-on-year growth. The minor dip in visitor numbers at the end of April was attributed to the April 23 earthquake in Istanbul. Bookings for May and June remain encouraging.

Top source markets for the first quarter were:

· Iran: 733,000 visitors

· Russia: 601,000

· Germany: 572,000

· Bulgaria: 506,000

· United Kingdom: 304,000

Alongside the tourism figures, Minister Ersoy unveiled details of the 2025 Culture Route Festival, now in its fifth edition and set to span a record 20 cities from 5 April to 10 November, making it Turkey’s most expansive cultural initiative to date. New additions to the festival route include Manisa, Mardin, Malatya, and Kayseri.

Global highlights include exhibitions of works by Salvador Dalí, Henri Matisse, Marc Chagall, Joan Miró, and Pablo Picasso—with the Picasso showcase touring seven Anatolian cities. Istanbul will host the Bolshoi Theatre with performances of Swan Lake and Romeo and Juliet, as well as the world premiere of The Haunted Eye, a major new exhibition by acclaimed U.S. photographer Steve McCurry.

For the first time, works by members of the illustrious Şakir Paşa family—including Fahrelnissa Zeid and Cevat Şakir Kabaağaçlı—will be exhibited together. The former home of artist Bedri Rahmi Eyüboğlu will also be opened to the public as part of the festival.

Since joining the European Festivals Association in 2022, the Culture Route Festival has become one of Turkey’s most ambitious and far-reaching arts initiatives, bringing contemporary and classical culture to diverse audiences across the country.