Tourism officials were digesting a double dose of bad news with the number of UK arrivals to Turkey down by 10%, and the average length of stay by tourists in Didim declining by 33%.
Newly-released official figures show that while the UK remained Turkey’s third-largest visitor market with 1.58 million arrivals in the period, the total compares with 1.75 million during the same period in 2025, representing a decrease of 9.7%.
Culture and tourism minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy said: “Regional tensions in the Middle East and global uncertainties have impacted tourism demand in the first half of 2026. Although Turkey was not involved in the conflict and all our airlines and airports continued to operate without disruption, the closure of Middle Eastern airspace led to a slight decline in demand.”
The country’s tourism revenues remained level with the same period last year at about £19.2 billion as a reduced level of 25.8 million international visitors were recorded.
The average length of stay increased by 0.5% to 10.1 nights, while average spending per night rose by 2.6% to £81.
The three largest source markets remained unchanged, topped by Russia with 2.65 million visitors; Germany, with 2.44 million; and the UK, with 1.58 million.
Ersoy added: “In the first six months of 2025, we hosted 26.4 million visitors. During the same period in the current year, we welcomed 25.8 million visitors. We have commenced the second half of the year strongly, and our current projections suggest a markedly improved performance for the remainder of the year.
“As a consequence of our strategic initiatives, we maintained our tourism revenues at the same level as in 2025, concluding the first half of the year with a robust figure of $25.8 billion.”
Market shares of the top 5 countries sending the most visitors to Türkiye:
Russian Federation:2,645,000 visitors (12.74% share)
Germany:2,441,000 visitors (11.75% share)
United Kingdom: 1,579,000 visitors (7.61% share)
Bulgaria: 1,264,000 visitors (6.09% share)
Iran: 1,208,000 visitors (5.82% share)
Length of stay falls
Overall, the average length of stay in Türkiye decreased by 3.7% in the first five months of 2026, while the decline reached 5.4% in coastal destinations.
The most significant declines in average length of stay:
Ortaca: 37.6%
Didim: 33%
Muratpaşa: 13.5%
Fethiye: 11.7%
Kaş: 11.0%
Kemer: 7.4%
Alanya: 5.9%
The report stated that Manavgat, Türkiye’s most popular tourist destination for overnight stays, maintained its average length of stay. Belek (Serik) was one of the coastal destinations showed a positive performance, with an increase of approximately 2.3%.
In Istanbul and some other city destinations, a more balanced picture emerged. Specifically, the average length of stay increased by 13% in Şişli, 10.5% in Konak, and 24.4% in Selçuk.