The Turkish Culture and Tourism office in India revealed that between January to December 2019, Turkey has registered a 57% increase in the number of Indian tourist arrivals in comparison to the same period last year, hosting 230,000 Indian visitors. In 2018, Turkey hosted 147,000 Indian visitors while the numbers started to increase drastically from 2019.
With such positive growth rate recorded, Turkey Tourism is expecting a growth of approx. 35% in the Indian tourist arrivals by the end of 2020. The latest official statistics also revealed that 51.9 million foreign tourists visited Turkey within the period of January to December 2019, indicating a 13.7 per cent increase from the previous year.
Turkey has emerged as a popular destination for Indian Travelers across categories. From leisure travel to FITs, Indian weddings to Mice summits, there has been a significant increase in all segments. This year Turkey witnessed a substantial surge in the number of big-budget Indian destination weddings across Turkey. Similarly, MICE travel to Turkey increased at an incredibly fast pace.
Basis the current arrival numbers and the activities planned in months to come, the tourism board is hoping to reach a record number of Indian tourist arrivals in Turkey by the end of 2020. Turkey tourism board has been constantly engaging with Indian audience by highlighting important festivals, summits & international events that are being held in Turkey. A number of fams and engagements are being held regularly from India market to different parts of Turkey with a focus on cuisine, culture, landscape, history and nature.
Turkish Culture and Tourism office India will also be associating with top Indian travel associations in upcoming quarters.