Istanbul tourism sees 10% surge in foreign visitors in early 2024

The Istanbul Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism reported a 10% increase in foreign tourist arrivals to Istanbul in the first four months of 2024 compared to the same period last year, totaling 5,244,936 visitors.

In April alone, the city welcomed 1,478,218 foreign tourists, marking a 15% increase from April 2023.

In April, 1,459,083 of the tourists visiting Istanbul preferred air transportation. The number of those who visited the city by sea was 19,135. Air arrivals to Istanbul increased by 16% compared to the same period last year, while sea arrivals decreased by 29 %.

Also in April, 1276 people entered Istanbul from Ataturk Airport, 394, 772 people from Sabiha Gokcen Airport and 1,063,035 people from Istanbul Airport.

Russian tourists topped the list in April with 167,824 visitors, followed by Germany, Iran, the U.S., France, the U.K., Saudi Arabia, Italy, Uzbekistan, China, the Netherlands and Azerbaijan. Russians accounted for 11.35% of visitors, followed by Germans and Iranians.

Overall, tourists from 199 countries visited Istanbul in April, with visitors even coming from distant places like Puerto Rico, Nauru and North Korea.

The number of tourists in April has shown a significant increase compared to the same month in previous years, with 977,888 visitors in April 2022.