Turkey: Tourism revenues at $12.6 in 2020

ANKARA

With most of the world staying at home due to COVID-19, Turkey's tourism revenues in 2020 totaled $12.6 billion, a 65.1% decline from the previous year, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) announced Friday.

Tourism expenditures also fell 74.9% compared to the previous year, down to $1.1 billion.

While $954 million of total expenditures were individual expenditures, $151 million came from package tour expenditures.

The number of departing visitors dropped 69.5% from the previous year to 16 million people.

While 80.3% of visitors were foreign nationals, with 13 million people, 19.7% of them were Turkish citizens living abroad, with 3.1 million.

Two-thirds of foreign visitors came to Turkey for travel, entertainment, sporting, and cultural activities, while nearly the same proportion of Turkish citizens living abroad largely came to visit relatives and friends.

In the fourth quarter of 2020, tourism revenue fell in half to $4 billion, again due to coronavirus-related travel fears and restrictions.

"While 75.4% of this income (excluding GSM roaming and marina service expenditures) was obtained from foreign visitors, 24.6% was obtained from citizens resident abroad," TurkStat said.

In the quarter, all expenditure types slipped compared to same quarter of the previous year.

Package tour services expenditures, tour and sports, education, and culture expenditures fell 72.2%, 68.4%, and 67.3%, respectively.