Turkey tourism growth and health‑tourism boom

Turkey’s tourism sector kept expanding through mid‑2026, with international arrivals at 60.6 million and revenue topping $56 billion. Domestic tourism spending in Q1 2026 was 102.312 billion lira, driven by 11.5 million residents making 73.6 million overnight stays, while the average trip length held at 5.2 nights—the lowest since 2009.

Health‑tourism hit a record, with 576 000 health‑related trips generating 6.135 million overnight stays and an average stay of 10.6 nights. TÜİK data released on 25 July 2026 confirmed that health‑travel spending surpassed the 10‑billion‑lira mark, reaching 10.626 billion lira, up from 9.877 billion lira a year earlier. When combined with meeting‑conference travel (2.406 billion lira) and trade‑fair travel (2.220 billion lira), total expenditure in these three categories amounted to 15.25 billion lira.

Graduate employment remained strong, with 73.9 % of bachelor‑degree holders and 65.7 % of associate‑degree holders employed in 2025; medicine led placement at 95.5 %. The carpet industry exported $1.257 billion, dominated by machine‑made products to the United States, Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom. Cultural‑tour demand surged on Likya, Black Sea and Cyprus routes, and a work‑based education model was piloted in eight cities for 2026‑2027.