Turkey raises tourism income in first half of year

Turkey’s tourism income has soared by 6.3 percent in the first half of the year largely due to Turks living abroad, who almost doubled foreign tourists visiting the country in terms of spending, official data has shown.

The nation’s income from tourism reached $13.78 billion from last year’s $12.96 billion for the six-month period, according to figures announced by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK).

For the second quarter, income earned from visiting tourists increased 7.9 percent compared to the same quarter of last year, reaching $9 billion.

Foreign visitors accounted for 84.5 percent of this income, while Turkish citizens living abroad accounted for the rest, according to the released data.

However, in terms of average expenditure per capita, Turks living abroad outscored their foreign counterparts in the second quarter.

While the average foreign visitor spent $759 per capita, the average expenditure of Turkish citizens living abroad was $1,325 per capita. The overall average expenditure per capita was $818.

Meanwhile, during the quarter, the number of Turkish citizens traveling abroad increased by 11.3 percent, reaching 2.4 million, spending an average of $687 per capita.