Türkiye’s museums see visitor numbers rise to nearly 56M as cultural interest surges

The number of Türkiye’s museums increased by 7.1% in 2023, rising to 606, according to the latest “Cultural Heritage Statistics” published by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat).

The total number of museum and historical site visitors also saw an increase, with a 6.2% rise, totaling 55.75 million visitors last year.

The data reflects a growing interest in Türkiye’s cultural and historical assets. Of the 606 museums, 212 are managed by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, while 376 are privately run. Additionally, 18 museums operate under the Presidential National Palaces Administration.

Türkiye’s museums, visitor numbers on rise

Of the 55.75 million visitors, 54.7% visited museums and historical sites operated by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Visits to paid ministry-affiliated sites totaled over 17.67 million, accounting for 31.7% of the total visits.

The visitor numbers to privately owned museums saw a significant 22.5% increase, reaching over 18.23 million, while those to National Palaces Administration-affiliated museums rose by 5% to 7 million.

In terms of revenue, the Ministry’s paid museums and sites generated approximately $77.33 million in 2023. During the same period, over 4.2 million museum cards were sold, offering access to multiple museums and cultural sites.

Artifacts, cultural heritage in Turkish museums

The number of museum artifacts recorded a slight decline, decreasing by 2.9% to a total of 3.9 million.

While the ministry’s collections grew by 0.5%, totaling over 3.34 million items, private museums experienced a substantial 32.5% decrease, falling to 286,334 artifacts. National Palaces museums, however, saw a 2.2% rise, with their collections now comprising 272,835 items.

Artifacts in ministry-run museums mainly consist of coins (60.1%), followed by archaeological artifacts (27.6%), ethnographic artifacts (6.6%), and tablets (3.6%).

Protected sites, parks in Türkiye

The number of protected cultural and natural sites also grew, with Türkiye now boasting 24,786 archaeological and natural heritage sites, a 4.9% increase from the previous year. Nearly all of these (97%) are classified as archaeological sites.

Türkiye’s national park count remained at 48, covering a total area of 909,158 hectares, although this represents a slight 0.2% decrease in land area. Nature parks, or nature parks, increased by 1.9% to 266 parks, although the total area of these parks shrank by 0.3%, covering 108,036 hectares.