Türkiye’s tourism sector faces European slowdown
Özge Esen-ISTANBUL
Türkiye has long relied on Europe as its primary source market for tourism, but geopolitical tensions in recent years have replaced steady annual growth with a “flat trend.”
Data from the first seven months of 2026 points to a downward shift, with the Culture and Tourism Ministry reporting that visitor arrivals to Türkiye fell in 18 out of 22 European countries compared to the same period last year
The sharpest drop was recorded in Slovakia, with a 12.39 percent decrease, followed by the United Kingdom at 10.16 percent and Luxembourg at 8.96 percent. Visitor declines from Czechia, France and Ireland also exceeded 6 percent.
