With tourism booming throughout 2023, Europe's visitor numbers finally reached pre-pandemic levels, while turkey experienced a surprising increase in the number of visitors, according to the Global Travel Report published by WTM.
According to the report, which predicts that Turkey will overtake France as the second most visited country in Europe in 2024, the total number of visits to Europe decreased by 3 per cent from 440 million in 2019 to 428 million in 2023, but Turkey, where these figures are on the rise, recorded a 73 per cent increase in the number of visitors compared to 2019.
Thus, Turkey outperformed Europe's two largest markets, France and Spain, which increased by 33 per cent and 31 per cent respectively compared to 2019. Croatia, the tenth largest market in the region, was another remarkable performer, expected to be 51 per cent above pre-pandemic levels in 2023.
Entering 2023 with a major and devastating earthquake disaster centred in Kahramanmaraş, Turkey struggled to recover in terms of tourism at the beginning of the summer months, but tourism took off in the following months. Although the main reason why Turkey attracts so many tourists is its natural beauty and historical richness, the importance of offering an attractive option in terms of economic holiday cannot be ignored.
The depreciation of the Turkish lira has made holidays in Turkey more affordable for many travellers, while Turkey's coastline, with its crystal clear waters and luxury resorts, has become a more budget-friendly alternative to the Italian Riviera or France's Côte d'Azur. In addition, Turkey continued to welcome tourists from Russia as the only country in Europe where flights from Russia were not banned. Approximately 5 million Russian tourists visited Turkey in 2022 and a total of 7 million Russian tourists are expected to visit in 2023.
However, while Spain is the most popular European country in terms of tourism and France is the second most popular country in terms of tourism, according to the WTM report, the report predicts that Turkey's attractiveness will continue in 2024 and will overtake France as the second most visited country in Europe. WTM forecasts that tourism growth in Spain, France and Turkey will continue, increasing by 74, 80 and 72 per cent respectively.