The competition in the Mediterranean region the region with the most intensive tourism traffic in the world is experiencing improvements in favor of Turkey. During the 10-month period of the year, Turkey became the leader in the region in the number of visitors, surpassing its biggest competitors France, Spain and Italy.
There is no doubt Mediterranean is among the most lively tourism regions in the world and tough competition among countries in this part of the world has continued during the pandemic as well.
During the 10-month period of the year, Turkey became the leader in the region in the number of visitors, surpassing its biggest competitors France, Spain and Italy. But the situation is different with tourism income per capita. In 10 months, Turkey alone with foreigners exceeded 21 million, and with the addition of citizens residing abroad, the number of visitors exceeded 25.3 million, while Spain and France remained at 24 million, Italy at 21 million. During this period, Greece received 15 million visitors, Croatia 10 million, and Egypt 5 million.
Several surveys show Turkey seems to have taken the leadership in the region
Turkey, which performed better than Spain during the pandemic period, is barely ahead of Spain thanks to citizens residing abroad in the number of visitors.
In 10 months, Spain received 24 million 827 thousand tourists, while Turkey received a total of 24 million 979 thousand visitors, 3 million 923 thousand of which were from citizens residing abroad. In this case, according to 10-month data, Turkey was ahead of Spain with 152 thousand people.
Turkey increases number of visitors, Spain increases revenue
As for the total and per capita tourism income, the situation is different. In terms of the number of visitors, Turkey is ahead of Spain with citizens abroad, while in terms of income, Spain is ahead of Turkey. According to the Balance of Payments Report of the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT), Turkey is the 3rd country of 2021. In the quarter, a total of $ 20.3 billion in tourism revenue was generated, of which $ 3.1 billion was from citizens residing abroad and $ 16.4 billion from foreign visitors.
Income, visitors and per capita income
Spain's tourism revenue, which had less visitors than Turkey for 10 months, amounted to 27.5 billion euros ($31 billion). During the 10-month period of the year, the number of foreign visitors to Turkey increased by 88 percent, while Spain's tourism revenue increased by 47 percent.
Turkey’s tourism income per capita also increased from $ 621 to $ 679 for foreign visitors and from $ 646 to $ 704 with the addition of citizens residing abroad.
