Istanbul welcomes nearly 4M foreign visitors in first 3 months of 2024

Istanbul welcomed around 3.8 million visitors in the first three months of the year, with the highest number of foreign visitors coming from Russia

In the first three months of 2024, Istanbul welcomed 3.8 million foreign visitors, marking an 8.22% increase compared to the same period last year, according to a statement by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

This number makes up more than half of the 7 million foreign visitors to Türkiye in the first three months.

In March, 1.3 million foreign visitors visited Istanbul, up 8.49% from the same month last year.

The highest number of foreign visitors to Istanbul in March was from the Russian Federation, with 163,548 people. This country was followed by Iran with 121,194 visitors, Germany with 115,563 visitors and the U.K. with 57,097 visitors. The U.S. with 55,940 visitors, France with 40,828 visitors and Italy with 35,446 visitors followed the U.K.

In March, Algeria, Iraq, Morocco, and Saudi Arabia took the top four spots in terms of visitors to Istanbul. Following Saudi Arabia were Lebanon, Libya, Egypt, Jordan, and Tunisia, rounding out the top destinations contributing to Istanbul’s tourism influx.

Most passengers arrived via Istanbul Airport

Most foreign visitors to Istanbul in March entered the city via Istanbul Airport.

In March, 918,036 foreign visitors preferred Istanbul Airport, which had a 70.55% share of the total number of foreign visitors arriving by air in March.

Sabiha Gokcen Airport was preferred by 382,096 foreign visitors in March, accounting for 29.37% of the total number of foreign visitors arriving in Istanbul by air.

The number of foreign visitors arriving to Istanbul by air in March increased by 8.83% compared to the same month of 2023 and reached 1.3 million.

Occupancy rate was 45.67% in February

According to the latest accommodation statistics published by the ministry, there were 1 million arrivals to ministry-certified facilities in February this year.

While 2.2 million visitors stayed overnight in these facilities, the average length of stay was 2.2 days.

The occupancy rate of Istanbul accommodation facilities was 45.67% in February.

Source: Newsroom