UK arrivals to Turkey fall almost 10% in first half of year

The number of UK arrivals to Turkey fell by almost 10% year on year in the first half of 2026.

Newly-released official figures show that while the UK remained Turkey’s third-largest visitor market with 1.58 million arrivals in the period, the total compares with 1.75 million during the same period in 2025, representing a decrease of 9.7%.

Culture and tourism minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy said: “Regional tensions in the Middle East and global uncertainties have impacted tourism demand in the first half of 2026.

“Although Turkey was not involved in the conflict and all our airlines and airports continued to operate without disruption, the closure of Middle Eastern airspace led to a slight decline in demand.”

The country’s tourism revenues remained level with the same period last year at about £19.2 billion as a reduced level of 25.8 million international visitors were recorded.

The average length of stay increased by 0.5% to 10.1 nights, while average spending per night rose by 2.6% to £81.

The three largest source markets remained unchanged, topped by Russia with 2.65 million visitors; Germany, with 2.44 million; and the UK, with 1.58 million.

Ersoy added: “In the first six months of 2025, we hosted 26.4 million visitors. During the same period in the current year, we welcomed 25.8 million visitors.

“We have commenced the second half of the year strongly, and our current projections suggest a markedly improved performance for the remainder of the year.

“As a consequence of our strategic initiatives, we maintained our tourism revenues at the same level as in 2025, concluding the first half of the year with a robust figure of $25.8 billion.”