The number of Chinese visitors rose 28 percent year-on-year in the first six months.
On Monday, the Türkiye Tourism Promotion and Development Agency informed that Türkiye received nearly 245,000 Chinese visitors in the first half of the year, making China the country’s fastest-growing tourism market.
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Data from the Culture and Tourism Ministry showed that the number of Chinese visitors rose 28.05 percent year-on-year in the first six months. “This 28.05 percent increase represents the highest growth rate among Türkiye’s tourism markets in the first half of the year, making China the market with the strongest growth,” the agency said.
The growth in the Chinese market stood out against Türkiye’s broader tourism performance — the country received 25.7 million visitors in the first half of the year, down 2.39 percent from the same period in 2025.
Sinan Seha Turkseven, manager of the agency, said the surge is a positive indicator for Türkiye’s long-term tourism strategy as the country pursues a goal of welcoming one million Chinese visitors.
“To support this vision, we are taking concrete steps to deepen interest among Chinese travelers and diversify their experiences in Türkiye,” he said.
Türkiye’s airports serve nearly 139M passengers in first seven months of 2026 with Istanbul and major tourism hubs driving strong growth in country’s aviation and tourism sectors pic.twitter.com/toxclgveYY
— TRT World Now (@TRTWorldNow) August 10, 2026
Türkiye introduced visa exemptions for Chinese citizens holding ordinary passports on Jan. 2, 2026, while direct flight connections with major Chinese cities have also expanded in recent years.
Other initiatives targeting the Chinese market include the launch of a dedicated Chinese-language section on GoTürkiye, Türkiye’s official tourism promotion platform, and Istanbul Airport’s “China-Friendly Airport” certification, which features Chinese-language signage, digitally supported services, and Chinese-speaking staff.
A series of promotional events, including the Chinese Year of the Horse Festival held in Cappadocia in February, also helped raise Türkiye’s visibility among Chinese travelers, Turkseven noted.
Irfan Karsli, owner of Ligarba Travel Agency and chairman of the Turkish-Chinese Cultural Association, said the visa exemption had boosted Chinese travelers’ interest in Türkiye. Searches for Türkiye on major Chinese travel platforms had significantly increased, he said. “We see a clear increase in demand, and we expect this upward trend to continue.”
The increase is also visible in Türkiye’s cultural tourism sector. Rahmi Asal, director of the Istanbul Archaeological Museums, said that Chinese tourists were now among the leading foreign visitor groups to the museums this year.
teleSUR/ JF
Source: Xinhua
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