The interest of Chinese Tourists in Turkey is increasing

İşler told AA reporter that Turkey, having had a successful year in tourism, is expected to continue its growth in 2024 based on early reservations.

Highlighting Turkey's proactive approach in promotion, İşler mentioned that starting early with reservation campaigns strengthens the hand of the tourism industry. According to recent figures, he noted that the German market is leading, the UK market is showing significant improvement, and there is activity in the Dutch, French, and Polish markets as well.

İşler, stating that there is a 15% increase in early reservations from China compared to the previous year, expressed:

"Before the pandemic, until 2019, around 500,000 Chinese tourists visited Turkey. Later, due to both the pandemic and decisions by the Chinese government restricting the exit of Chinese tourists in some countries, the number decreased. However, the Chinese government recently lifted this decision. Turkey can create a new main market here. If we consider that Germany is a market of around 6 million, Russia is close to that, and the UK is around 2.5-3 million, then Turkish tourism can attract 10 million tourists from the Chinese market alone. Turkey has the chance to obtain 20% of its current tourist number from the Chinese market. The goal of 10 million tourists should not be considered too ambitious. With a population close to 1.5 billion, capturing a share of 10 million tourists is not an unattainable target."

"Culture and gastronomy tourism stand out"

İşler emphasized that the Chinese show interest in Turkey's cultural and gastronomic tourism areas, which Turkey aims to develop instead of the traditional sun, sea, and sand, indicating that visitors from this country particularly like to visit Istanbul, Cappadocia, Ephesus, Pamukkale, Bergama, Sardis, and Antalya.

Stating that Turkish tourism has the ability to increase market diversity rather than relying on one or two main markets, İşler highlighted the crucial role of the Turkey Tourism Promotion and Development Agency (TGA) in promotion and marketing. He continued:

"If we focus on the products that the Chinese market really desires, offer good service, and present our beautifully packaged products, Turkey's tourism takes a giant step forward. Here, TGA has a particularly significant role to play. The promotional efforts made in Europe need to be implemented in the Chinese market as well. With strategic planning, it is not impossible for 10 million tourists from China to come to Turkey in the next 5 years."

İşler also mentioned that Chinese tourists prefer months outside the high season of summer, and he added that this is valuable in terms of the goal of extending tourism throughout the year.

The number of Chinese tourists is rapidly increasing

Standing out among countries with high growth potential in the global tourism sector, the number of tourists from China increased from around 28,000 in 2002 to 426,000 in 2019, thanks to Turkey's promotional campaigns. Due to travel restrictions implemented in China during the COVID-19 period, the numbers dropped to around 26,000 in 2021. However, with the removal of restrictions on group travel this year, the number of Chinese tourists rapidly increased, reaching 198,807 from January to October.