Türkiye welcomed 34,826,677 foreign visitors from January through August 2026. Visitor numbers fell 1.84 percent from the 35,481,223 recorded in the same period last year.
Russian visitors ranked first
Russian citizens formed the largest group of visitors to Türkiye during the first eight months of the year. The number of Russian visitors reached 4,717,814.
They were followed by Germany with 4,391,616 visitors, the United Kingdom with 2,714,652, Iran with 1,911,827 and Bulgaria with 1,738,991.
The number of visitors from Russia rose 3.59 percent from the same period last year. Visitor numbers from Germany fell 0.2 percent, those from the United Kingdom declined 9.6 percent and those from Iran decreased 1.7 percent.
Istanbul and Antalya led the list
Istanbul and Antalya ranked first and second among the provinces through which foreign visitors entered Türkiye. A total of 12,473,679 foreign visitors entered through Istanbul from January through August, accounting for 35.82 percent of all entries.
Antalya ranked second with 10,282,502 visitors, accounting for 29.52 percent of all entries.
Air travel remained by far the leading mode
Air travel was by far the most widely used means of transport for foreign visitors entering Türkiye. The number of visitors arriving by air was recorded at 26,424,002, giving air travel a 75.87 percent share of all entries.
During the same period, 6,520,994 foreign visitors entered Türkiye by land, 1,844,658 by sea and 37,023 by rail.
