Türkiye aims to become one of the top three travel destinations in the world by 2028, a senior official said Monday, also stressing efforts to extend the tourism season and enhance the appeal of the country’s cultural, historical and archaeological sites.
Foreign arrivals hit a record 49.2 million in 2023, up from 44.6 million in 2022. Visitors from Russia and Europe, mainly Germany and the United Kingdom, drove the increase.
Combined with nearly 7.5 million Turkish citizens living abroad, the number of visitors rose to 56.7 million.
The government expects arrivals to reach 60 million this year, a figure that Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy said is aimed to be lifted to approximately 80 million by 2028.
“When I took office, we ranked seventh in the world; now we are in fourth place. Our goal now is to enter the top three,” Ersoy said of the world’s most visited countries.
“When you talk about entering the top three, the number increases by 20…
