Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on tourism

Foreign tourist arrivals in Türkiye increased by 10.8 percent in the January-November period of 2023 from a year ago to 46.7 million.

Including Turkish nationals residing abroad, the number of total visitors reached 52.7 million in the first 11 months of this year.

More than 7 million foreign tourists have arrived in Antalya by air between Jan. 1 and July 18, marking a 24 percent increase from the same period of last year.

Antalya, one of Turkey's major holiday destinations, has welcomed 3.1 million foreign tourists since the start of the year.

Foreign tourist arrivals in the city, which is located on the Mediterranean coast, increased by 227 percent between Jan. 1 and June 12 from the same period of last year, according to data from the provincial directorate of culture and tourism.

Turkey has moved up four places in the World Economic Forum's (WEF) Travel and Tourism Development Index to rank 45th among 117 countries in 2021.

Some 2.6 million foreign tourists visited Turkey in April, pointing to a strong 226 percent increase from a year ago.

Since the start of the year, foreign tourist arrivals have recorded three-digit increases on an annual basis. In January, foreign tourist visits rose by 151 percent, while in February and March, they grew by 187 percent and 130 percent, respectively.

Greece and Kyrgyzstan have scrapped the requirement for a negative PCR test result upon entry from Turkey, Turkish Airlines announced late on May 2.

The two countries have eased travel restrictions imposed to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, the national flag-carrier company said on its social media accounts. 

Turkey's tourism revenues jumped 122 percent on an annual basis in the first quarter of 2022, while nearly 2.1 million foreign tourists visited the country in March, marking a robust increase of 129 percent from a year earlier.

The Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) said on April 29 that the country's tourism income amounted to $5.45 billion in January-March.

Turkey's tourism revenues increased by 103 percent on an annual basis to $24.48 billion last year, according to official data released on Jan. 31, reflecting a recovery from the initial wave of COVID-19 pandemic measures in 2020.

As of February 1 (Tuesday), the "red zone" will now include countries with a 14-day incidence of between 500 and 5,000 per 100,000 population. Persons arriving from these countries are allowed in Bulgaria upon presentation of a valid EU digital COVID certificate for vaccination, post-illness or testing (PCR or antigen test) or equivalent/similar documents.

Britain has tightened restrictions on citizens traveling to the country in connection with the spread of the new variant of the coronavirus "Omicron".