Tourism in Turkey is focused largely on a variety of historical sites, and on seaside resorts along its Aegean and Mediterranean Sea coasts. Turkey has also become a popular destination for culture, spa, and health care. In 2024, Turkey was the fourth most visited country in the world.

At its height in 2024, Turkey attracted around 52.6 million foreign tourists with a record tourism revenue of $61.1 billion.Türkiye sees record $61B tourism revenue in 2024 as arrivals hit 52.6M The total number fluctuated between around 41 million in 2015, and around 30 million in 2016. However, recovery began in 2017, with the number of foreign visitors increasing to 37.9 million, and in 2018 to 46.1 million visitors.

+Yearly tourist arrivals in millions

Destinations

Istanbul

Istanbul is one of the most important tourist spots not only in Turkey but also in the world. There are thousands of hotels and other tourist-oriented industries in the city. Turkey's largest city, Istanbul has a number of major attractions derived from its historical status as the capital of the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires. These include the Sultan Ahmed Mosque (the "Blue Mosque"), the Hagia Sophia, the Topkapı Palace, the Basilica Cistern, the Dolmabahçe Palace, the Galata Tower, the Grand Bazaar, the Spice Bazaar, and the Pera Palace Hotel. Istanbul has also recently become one of the biggest shopping centers of the European region by hosting malls and shopping centers, such as MetroCity, Akmerkez and Cevahir Mall, which is the biggest mall in Europe and seventh largest shopping center in the world. Other attractions include sporting events, museums, and cultural events.

In January 2013, the Turkish government announced that it would build the world's largest airport in Istanbul. The operation has an invested 7-billion euros and was planned to have the first part of a four-part plan completed by 2017.

Ankara Ankara is the country's capital and second most populated city. It is rich with Turkish history and culture that have roots in the founding of Turkey along with the history of ancient civilizations. The most popular landmark is the Anıtkabir, a mausoleum for Atatürk, the founder of the Republic of Turkey. Another landmark would be the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations, a museum that possesses works from Paleolithic, Neolithic, Hatti, Hittite, Phrygian, Urartian, and Roman civilizations.

Izmir Izmir is a city with historical and geopolitical importance in ancient civilizations such as Macedonia, Persia, Lydia, and the Ottomans. The city has a memorable history in the early years of Turkey as it was the main city that was affected by the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922). Izmir is home to many ancient cities such as Ephesus, Pergamon, and Klazomenai. Besides historical significance, Izmir also possesses many locations for coastal tourism for international travelers. Frequently visited regions that have tourist beaches for local and international tourists would be Çeşme, Mordoğan, and Foça.

Other destinations

Beach vacations and Blue Cruises, particularly for Turkish delights and visitors from Western Europe, are also central to the Turkish tourism industry. Most beach resorts are located along the southwestern and southern coast, called the Turkish Riviera, especially along the Mediterranean coast near Antalya. Antalya is also accepted as the tourism capital of Turkey. Major resort towns include Bodrum, Fethiye, Marmaris, Kuşadası, Didim and Alanya. Also, Turkey has been chosen second in the world in 2015 with its 436 blue-flagged beaches, according to the Chamber of Shipping.

Attractions elsewhere in the country include the sites of Ephesus, Troy, Pergamon, House of the Virgin Mary, Pamukkale, Hierapolis, Trabzon (where one of the oldest monasteries is the Sümela Monastery), Konya (where the poet Rumi had spent most of his life), Didyma, Church of Antioch, ancient Pontic capital and king rock tombs with its acropolis in Amasya, religious places in Mardin (such as Deyrülzafarân Monastery), and the ruined cities and landscapes of Cappadocia.

One of the most important and famous cities in the east and southeast of Turkey is called Diyarbakır. This city is considered one of the important options for traveling to the east of Turkey due to its numerous historical, religious and cultural places. For researchers who are interested in cultural studies, this city is a favorable option for study and research due to the accommodation of different ethnic groups (Kurds, Turks, Arabs, Assyrians, Armenians) and religious groups (Muslims, Christians). Due to the civil wars between the PKK group and the central government of Turkey in the 90's, the number of tourists in this region decreased. With the beginning of the 21st century and after the establishment of relative peace and security in these areas, tourism has been increasing again in these areas.

Gallipoli and Anzac Cove – a small cove on the Gallipoli peninsula, which became known as the site of World War I landing of the ANZAC (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) on 25 April 1915. Following the landing at Anzac Cove, the beach became the main base for the Australian and New Zealand troops for the eight months of the Gallipoli campaign.

UNESCO World Heritage Sites

As of 2023, Turkey hosts 21 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, 19 cultural and 2 mixed.

Turkey's World Heritage Sites, as per their official UNESCO names, are as follows:

Aphrodisias Archaeological Site of Ani Archaeological Site of Troy Arslantepe Mound Bursa and Cumalıkızık: the Birth of the Ottoman Empire City of Safranbolu Diyarbakır Fortress and Hevsel Gardens Cultural Landscape Ephesus Gordion Göbekli Tepe Göreme National Park and the Rock Sites of Cappadocia Great Mosque and Hospital of Divriği Hattusha: the Hittite Capital Hierapolis-Pamukkale Historic Areas of Istanbul Nemrut Dağ Neolithic Site of Çatalhöyük Pergamon and its Multi-Layered Cultural Landscape Selimiye Mosque and its Social Complex Wooden Hypostyle Mosques of Medieval Anatolia Xanthos-Letoon

Medical tourism

An emerging branch of tourism in Turkey is medical tourism. Commonly performed medical procedures are hair transplant operations, rhinoplasty, cosmetic dentistry, bariatric surgery, buttock augmentation, mammaplasty and mastopexy as it draws in thousands of foreigner tourists every year. In 2021, the revenue generated from medical tourism was given as $1.05 billion with 642,000 people that visited for the purpose of getting medical service. This is due to Turkey offering high-quality clinics for affordable pricing compared to the rest of Europe and its central location between Asia and Europe. Other reasons for the high demand for healthcare in Turkey are foreigners having easy visa procedures and immediate scheduling for operations.

Development of tourism Turkey issued 16,199,968 electronic visas between April 2013 and 1 January 2017. The acceptance rate was 87.79% as 18,452,733 applications were filed in this period. Most visas were issued to nationals of the United Kingdom (4.6 million), Iraq (2 million) and the Netherlands (1.8 million).

Most visitors arriving in Turkey were from the following countries of nationality:NUMBER OF ARRIVING-DEPARTING VISITORS, FOREIGNERS AND CITIZENS December 2017