Istanbul welcomes over 8.5M foreign tourists in first half of 2024

Istanbul continues to be a major attraction for international tourists, drawing in 8.5 million visitors in the first half of 2024. This represents an 8% increase compared to the same period last year, as per the Istanbul Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism.

June sees modest growth in tourist

In June 2024 alone, the city hosted 1.64 million foreign tourists, a slight increase of 1% from the 1.63 million tourists recorded in June 2023. In the first six months of 2023, Istanbul welcomed 7.9 million foreign tourists.

Airports and ports: Popular entry points for tourist

The vast majority of these tourists, 1.58 million, arrived by air, while 55,737 opted for sea travel.

• Istanbul Airport was the most popular entry point, handling 1.16 million arrivals, which accounted for 73.39% of all air passengers. Sabiha Gokcen International Airport followed with 419,617 arrivals, making up 26.51% of the total. 1,464 tourists arrived via Atatürk Airport.

• Seaports also played a role, with 55,737 tourists entering the city by sea. Tuzla Port saw 1,728 arrivals, Karakoy Port 48,380, Sarayburnu Port 3,588, Zeytinburnu Port 1,362, Ambarli Port 301, Haydarpasa Port 214, Pendik Port 138, and Marmara Port 26.

Russians lead tourist masses

Russian tourists topped the list of foreign visitors, with 171,633 arrivals in June, representing 10.48% of all tourists.

• They were followed by visitors from the United States (112,966), Germany (102,559), Iran (96,418) and Saudi Arabia (85,448).
• Other significant numbers came from the United Kingdom (65,440), France (48,331), Uzbekistan (46,077), Iraq (42,649) and Italy (36,766).

Tonga, Samoa and Tuvalu among rarest visitors

Tourists from 195 different countries visited Istanbul in June 2024, showcasing the city’s global appeal. Among the rarest visitors were individuals from Tonga, Samoa, and Tuvalu, each represented by just one visitor. Sao Tome and Principe, Papua New Guinea, and Vatican City sent two visitors each.