Pope’s visit to Turkey fuels hopes for rise in faith tourism

The Red Basilica in the Aegean city of Ä°zmir is one of the most visited spots by faith tourists, according to Tourism Ministry figures. AA photo

Turkey has been unable to exploit its full faith tourism potential and the number of faith tourists visiting Turkey last year hit a 10-year low, according to the latest report by the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies (TÜRSAB). Sector representatives, however, are hopeful for a rise in the number of faith tourists in the near future after Pope Francis’ visit to Turkey in November. 

A record-high number of faith tourists visited Turkey in 2007 after the House of the Virgin Mary in the Aegean province of Selçuk hosted Pope Benedict in 2006. Over 144,000 faith tourists came and visited Turkey in 2007, the highest-number ever, but a sharp decrease started to be observed in the number of faith tourists since 2010, according to the TÜRSAB report. 

TÜRSAB Vice-President Hande Arslanalp put the drop down to a number of reasons, chief among these being the bloody conflicts in the country’s southern neighbors. 

“Turkey hosted just 59,000 faith tourists last year - the lowest level since the beginning of the 2000s. It welcomed 55,000 faith tourists in the first half of this year, and we expect to reach around 100,000 by the end of this year. We also expect a slight rise in this number after Pope Francis’ visit,” Arslanalp said. 

More than 300 million people across the world travel for religious purposes every year, spending a yearly average total of $20 billion, according to the TÜRSAB report. The average 461,000 Turks who visit Mecca for religious purposes spend a total of around $1.1 billion every year, around 5 percent of the total. 

There are religious sites in more than 43 cities across Turkey, many of which host sites that are of significance to all three Abrahamic religions, Arslanalp also said, adding that...

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