Shopping and Culinary Tourism Rise in Turkey While Medical Visits Drop Sharply

Turkey welcomed over 25.5 million foreign visitors in the first half of 2024, with shopping and food-related tourism on the rise. However, the once-thriving medical tourism sector saw a significant decline in both visitor numbers and revenue.

Tourist Numbers Up, Spending Habits Shift

According to Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) data, Turkey experienced modest growth in tourism during the first six months of 2024, reaching 25.53 million international visitors. While general tourism rose, a shift in spending patterns was observed: shopping and gastronomy tourism surged, whereas medical tourism sharply declined following a series of scandals.

Shopping Tourism Gains Momentum

A weakened Turkish lira and slowing inflation made Turkey more affordable for foreign shoppers. As a result, the number of tourists arriving specifically for shopping increased by 7%, reaching 1.855 million between January and June 2024. This group’s share of total tourists climbed from 5.4% to 5.6%.

Retail spending by tourists grew by $183 million, hitting a total of $3.74 billion in the same period. This resurgence signals that shopping tourism is regaining its appeal, especially among visitors from neighboring countries and the Middle East.

Culinary Tourism Drives Spending

Spending on food and beverages jumped by 15% year-over-year, totaling $5.43 billion in the first half of 2024. This upward trend highlights Turkey’s continued strength as a gastronomy destination, with cities like Istanbul, Gaziantep, and İzmir drawing in food enthusiasts.

In total, tourism revenues reached $25.4 billion, marking a 7% increase from the previous year’s first half.

Medical Tourism Faces Major Setback

In stark contrast, Turkey’s booming medical tourism sector showed serious signs of contraction. After years of rapid growth, the industry has been hit hard by high-profile malpractice cases, including incidents that resulted in patient deaths.

As a result:

• The number of health tourists dropped by 68,000, down to 733,000 visitors.

• Corresponding revenues fell by $229 million, decreasing to $1.39 billion.

The sharp decline underlines growing concerns about patient safety, quality standards, and regulation enforcement in Turkey’s health tourism infrastructure.