The number of foreigners who arrived in Turkey last month more than tripled compared to last year, according to figures from the Ministry of Tourism released on May 23, fueling expectations that growth in the sector will help rebuild an economy hit by a depreciating currency and high inflation.
Sector representatives expect that despite the consequences of the military conflict in Ukraine, the number of tourists this year will return to about the level of 2019, leaving behind the decline caused by the coronavirus pandemic that broke out in 2020-2021.
The Ministry of Tourism reported that the number of foreign tourists in April jumped 225.6% from last year to 2.57 million people.
The mayor of the southwestern resort town of Bodrum, Ahmet Aras, said the number of foreign visitors would reach 1.5 million, up from 1.3 million in 2019 before the pandemic.
Aras noted that the British, Germans, and Dutch go to Turkey, as they are attracted by the cheap lira, which compensates for the reduction in tourists from Russia and Ukraine.
“Now we are really one of the cheapest destinations. Not only Bodrum, but the whole of Turkey, has again become very attractive due to the cheaper lira,” he said.
The value of the Turkish national currency has halved over the past year, attracting attention in countries from which only a small number of tourists used to come. Piotr Henicz, president of Poland's largest tour operator Itaka, told the Sabah newspaper that the number of bookings to Turkey has tripled compared to last year.
The currency crisis at the end of last year largely pushed inflation up to 70%.
The government says foreign income from the tourism sector will help stabilize the currency and dampen price increases, even as the trade balance shrinks.
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