ISTANBUL, August 5, 2026 — Türkiye’s tourism balance is coming under increasing pressure as spending by Turkish citizens traveling abroad continues to grow significantly faster than the country’s tourism revenues.

According to data compiled from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK), tourism revenues increased 112.6% between 2021 and the end of 2025, rising from $30.3 billion to $64.4 billion.

Over the same period, however, tourism expenditure — covering spending by Turkish citizens traveling abroad — surged 335.8%, from $2.2 billion to nearly $9.6 billion.

Overseas travel spending hits record high

The trend continued in the second quarter of 2026. Tourism revenues fell 2.73% year-on-year to $15.655 billion, while overseas travel spending by Turkish citizens rose 7.35% to $2.962 billion.

The figure marked the highest quarterly tourism expenditure on record. As a result, Türkiye’s net tourism income declined from $13.33 billion to $12.69 billion compared with the same period a year earlier.

In the second quarter, overseas travel spending accounted for 18.93% of tourism revenues, meaning that nearly $19 out of every $100 earned from tourism was spent abroad by Turkish citizens.

This ratio stood at just 7.27% in 2021 and had risen to 14.9% by the end of 2025.

Rising domestic costs push travelers abroad

Industry representatives attribute the increase in overseas travel spending largely to high inflation in Türkiye, particularly in accommodation, food and beverage, and other service costs.

The rising cost of domestic holidays has made destinations in neighboring countries, Greek islands and visa-free or visa-friendly locations increasingly attractive to Turkish travelers.

The number of Turkish citizens traveling abroad has also risen sharply. The figure increased from 7.27 million in 2022 to more than 11.9 million in 2025, representing a 63.7% increase.

In the second quarter of 2026 alone, 3.43 million Turkish citizens traveled abroad, up 16.5% from the same period a year earlier.

Foreign visitor numbers decline

While outbound travel by Turkish citizens has accelerated, the growth in foreign visitors to Türkiye has weakened.

Between 2022 and 2025, the number of visitors to Türkiye increased 24.4%, from 51.37 million to 63.92 million.

However, in the second quarter of 2026, the number of visitors fell 5.1% year-on-year to 15.58 million.

Spending gap between foreign tourists and Turkish travelers narrows

The gap in per-person spending is also narrowing.

In 2022, foreign visitors to Türkiye spent an average of $971 per person, compared with $702 spent by Turkish citizens traveling abroad.

By 2025, average spending had risen to $1,008 for foreign tourists and $807 for Turkish travelers.

In the second quarter of 2026, foreign tourists spent an average of $1,005, while Turkish citizens traveling abroad spent $863 per person.

This means the average spending of Turkish travelers abroad reached 85.9% of the amount spent by foreign tourists in Türkiye, the highest ratio on record.

Tourism’s contribution to foreign-currency earnings weakens

The widening gap between tourism revenues and overseas travel expenditure is increasingly limiting Türkiye’s net tourism income.

Annualized figures show that the ratio of tourism revenues to expenditures fell from 1,375.7% in 2021 to 671.2% in 2025.

Over the 12 months through the second quarter of 2026, net tourism income stood at approximately $54.78 billion, indicating that the sector’s contribution to financing Türkiye’s current-account deficit has begun to lose momentum.

The combination of slower tourism revenue growth and rapidly increasing overseas spending is therefore emerging as a key challenge for Türkiye’s tourism balance.

Source: Patronlar Dünyası/ Prepared by: İlayda gök