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Istanbul Tourism Statistics for November 2026
Istanbul received a record 18.97 million foreign visitors in 2025, 2.1% more than in 2024 and 27.3% more than in 2019. They made up 36.0% of all foreign arrivals in Turkey. In January–September 2026 the city recorded 14.38 million foreign arrivals, 1.6% more than a year earlier (provisional), while arrivals in Turkey as a whole fell 1.5%.
How many foreign visitors come to Istanbul, where they come from, how they arrive and where they stay, compiled from the latest official statistics. Full sources are listed at the bottom of the page. Headline numbers are for 2025, the most recent full year, with 2026 year-to-date where available. Visitor figures count foreign nationals entering Turkey at border gates in Istanbul province.
Inbound visitors
International visitors to Istanbul
Istanbul recorded 18.97 million foreign visitor arrivals in 2025, up 2.1% on 2024 and a record for the third year in a row. That is 27.3% more than the 14.91 million of 2019. Arrivals fell to 5.00 million in 2020, during the pandemic, and passed the 2019 level again in 2022. In January–September 2026 there were 14.38 million, 1.6% more than in the same months of 2025 (provisional).
View data table
| Period | Value | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 14.91m | pre-pandemic |
| 2020 | 5.00m | pandemic |
| 2021 | 9.03m | |
| 2022 | 16.02m | |
| 2023 | 17.37m | |
| 2024 | 18.58m | |
| 2025 | 18.97m | record |
Arrivals count foreign nationals entering Turkey through border gates in Istanbul province, by nationality, and include 401,941 same-day visitors in 2025. Visitors who enter Turkey elsewhere and then travel to Istanbul are not included, and some who arrive in Istanbul travel on to other parts of the country. Turkish citizens living abroad are not counted. In 2025, 97.0% arrived by air: 12.94 million through Istanbul Airport, 5.45 million through Sabiha Gökçen and 19,717 through Atatürk. The other 560,600 arrived by sea, 475,654 of them at Karaköy, the cruise port.
Visitor spending · Turkey-wide
Tourism income for Turkey as a whole
No official figure is published for what visitors spend in Istanbul. The closest official measure covers the whole of Turkey: tourism income reached US$65.2 billion in 2025, up 6.8% on 2024. Istanbul receives 36.0% of Turkey's foreign arrivals, but no breakdown of spending by city or province is published.
View data table
| Period | Value | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | US$42.9bn | pre-pandemic |
| 2020 | US$15.3bn | pandemic |
| 2021 | US$30.5bn | |
| 2022 | US$50.2bn | |
| 2023 | US$56.4bn | |
| 2024 | US$61.1bn | |
| 2025 | US$65.2bn | Turkey-wide |
Turkey-wide figures in nominal US dollars. They cover spending in Turkey by departing foreign visitors and Turkish citizens living abroad, plus duty-free spending by international transfer passengers. The average visitor to Turkey spent US$1,008 per trip and US$100 per night in 2025.
Source markets
Where Istanbul's visitors come from
Russia was the largest market in 2025 with 2.02 million arrivals, 10.7% of the total, followed by Germany with 1.52 million. The United States moved up to third place, ahead of Iran, whose arrivals fell 20.7%. Italy grew fastest among the top ten. Bars show 2025 arrivals; the muted figure is the change on 2024.
Markets are by nationality, not country of residence. The ten largest markets made up 47.8% of arrivals in 2025. China replaced Iraq in the top ten.
Seasonality
When they visit
Istanbul is busy all year. Foreign arrivals peaked in July 2025 at 1.88 million, 9.9% of the year, and every month from April to December topped 1.4 million. March was the quietest month, with 1.23 million.
View data table
| Period | Value |
|---|---|
| Jan | 1.27m |
| Feb | 1.26m |
| Mar | 1.23m |
| Apr | 1.58m |
| May | 1.67m |
| Jun | 1.63m |
| Jul | 1.88m |
| Aug | 1.85m |
| Sep | 1.79m |
| Oct | 1.86m |
| Nov | 1.46m |
| Dec | 1.49m |
Foreign visitor arrivals at border gates in Istanbul by month, 2025; the months add up to 18,972,699. In 2026, September brought 1.91 million arrivals, 6.4% more than in September 2025 (provisional).
Accommodation
Hotels & occupancy
Licensed accommodation in Istanbul recorded 40.1 million guest nights in 2025 from 18.1 million guest arrivals, and 71.8% of the nights were spent by foreign guests. Guests stayed 2.22 nights on average: 2.41 nights for foreign guests and 1.84 for domestic guests. Average occupancy was 53.5%. The Fatih district, which covers the historic peninsula, had 12.6 million nights, 31.4% of the city total, followed by Beyoğlu (6.6 million) and Şişli (4.4 million). The figures cover establishments with a tourism operation licence or a simple accommodation certificate.
Economic impact
Tourism in Istanbul's economy
No official estimate of visitor spending or of tourism's share of the economy is published for Istanbul. Other official figures cover the city's airports and museums. Istanbul Airport and Sabiha Gökçen together handled 132.9 million passengers in 2025, and museums in Istanbul recorded 18.3 million visitors, 27.8% of all museum and archaeological site visits in Turkey.
Airport figures count arriving and departing passengers on domestic and international flights, many of them residents or passengers changing planes, so they are not a count of visitors. International passengers at Sabiha Gökçen rose 24.0% in 2025. In January–September 2026 Istanbul Airport handled 64.5 million passengers (+2.1%) and Sabiha Gökçen 37.9 million (+6.5%); 2026 figures are not final. Museum visitors are for Istanbul province.
At a glance
Fast facts
- 97.0% Share of foreign visitors arriving by air (2025)
- 12.94m Foreign visitors entering through Istanbul Airport (2025)
- 475,654 Foreign visitors arriving at the Karaköy cruise port (2025, +33.7%)
- 401,941 Foreign same-day visitors (2025, +17.7%)
- 2.22 nights Avg. stay in licensed accommodation (2025)
- 132.9m Passengers at Istanbul Airport and Sabiha Gökçen combined (2025)
Questions
Frequently asked questions
How many tourists visit Istanbul each year?
Istanbul received a record 18.97 million foreign visitors in 2025, 2.1% more than in 2024 and 27.3% more than the 14.91 million of 2019. The figure counts foreign nationals entering Turkey through border gates in Istanbul province. Turkish citizens living abroad and domestic tourists are not included.
How many tourists have visited Istanbul in 2026?
14.38 million foreign visitors arrived in Istanbul in January–September 2026, 1.6% more than in the same months of 2025 (provisional). Foreign arrivals in Turkey as a whole fell 1.5% over the same period. September 2026 brought 1.91 million arrivals, 6.4% more than September 2025.
Which country sends the most tourists to Istanbul?
Russia, with 2.02 million arrivals in 2025, followed by Germany (1.52 million) and the United States (1.06 million). Iran (910,996) and the United Kingdom (758,573) complete the top five. Arrivals from Iran fell 20.7% on 2024, while those from Italy rose 16.8%.
What share of Turkey's tourists visit Istanbul?
In 2025, 36.0% of the 52.8 million foreign visitors to Turkey entered the country through border gates in Istanbul province. Licensed accommodation in Istanbul recorded 40.1 million guest nights, against 252.3 million for Turkey as a whole.
How much do tourists spend in Istanbul?
No official figure is published for visitor spending in Istanbul. For Turkey as a whole, tourism income was US$65.2 billion in 2025, up 6.8% on 2024, and the average visitor spent US$1,008 per trip.
How many hotels are there in Istanbul?
On 1 October 2026 Istanbul had 3,131 establishments with a tourism operation licence or a simple accommodation certificate, with 127,932 rooms and 258,361 beds, among them 145 five-star hotels. In 2025 licensed accommodation was 53.5% full on average and recorded 40.1 million guest nights.
Using these figures?
Cite this page
Journalists, researchers and bloggers are welcome to use the statistics on this page. Please credit Istanbul Tourism Statistics and link to this page.
Istanbul Tourism Statistics (2026). Visitors, spending and trends. Last reviewed 2 November 2026. https://www.globaltourismstatistics.com/istanbul
<a href="https://www.globaltourismstatistics.com/istanbul">Istanbul Tourism Statistics</a> Notes & sources
Methodology & sources
This page compiles publicly available official statistics from the Istanbul Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the State Airports Authority (DHMİ) and the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat); the sources for every figure are listed below. Caveats:
- Foreign arrivals for 2025 (18,972,699) and January–September 2026 (14,379,176, +1.56%) are from the Istanbul Provincial Directorate's monthly tourism statistics reports, which use the Ministry of Culture and Tourism's border statistics; the 2025 total matches the Ministry's annual border bulletin. 2026 figures are treated as provisional, as in the Ministry's national monthly bulletin. The national total in the Istanbul report (52,775,261) differs slightly from the annual bulletin (52,775,055) in its November figure; the 36.0% share is the same with either. The 2019 (14,906,663) and 2020 (5,001,981) totals are read from the data labels of the 2006–2025 chart in the December 2025 report; 2021–2025 come from the report tables. Growth rates, shares and monthly sums are our calculations.
- Arrivals are border police records of foreign nationals entering Turkey at Istanbul's airports and sea ports, by nationality, and include same-day visitors (401,941 in 2025, from table 12 of the annual bulletin). They count entries, not unique people, and do not show where visitors stay: some travel on to other provinces, and foreigners who enter Turkey elsewhere and then visit Istanbul are not counted. Turkish citizens resident abroad and domestic tourists are excluded. Karaköy is the sea border gate for the city's cruise terminal; 364,585 of its 475,654 arrivals in 2025 were same-day visitors.
- Licensed accommodation figures cover establishments with a Ministry tourism operation licence or simple accommodation certificate; establishments licensed only by municipalities are not included. Arrivals are check-ins, so a guest who checks in twice is counted twice. The set of certified establishments changes from year to year, so no year-on-year change is shown; the December 2025 report gave 31.6 million nights and 54.75% occupancy for 2024. Occupancy is shown as published, with no stated bed or room basis. Capacity is the Ministry register on 1 October 2026.
- Airport passengers are DHMİ figures for arriving and departing passengers on domestic and international flights; Istanbul Airport and Sabiha Gökçen are run by private operators under state supervision, and the 2026 figures are marked as not final. The 132.9 million combined total is our sum. Museum visitors are from TurkStat's cultural heritage statistics for Istanbul province.
- No official visitor spending, purpose-of-visit or tourism GDP figures are published for Istanbul, so spending is shown for Turkey as a whole (TurkStat tourism income, nominal US dollars) and there is no purpose section. No official visitor counts for individual attractions such as Topkapı Palace or Hagia Sophia were found, so there is no attractions section. The city reports publish no 2026 year-to-date breakdown by nationality.
Primary sources
- Istanbul Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism: Istanbul tourism statistics report, December 2025 : Monthly report (PDF): foreign visitor arrivals at border gates in Istanbul by month 2023–2025, by border gate and by nationality, with a chart of annual arrivals 2006–2025 and the ten largest markets 2023–2025.
- Istanbul Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism: Istanbul tourism statistics report, September 2026 : Monthly report (PDF): foreign visitor arrivals by month and border gate, January–September 2024–2026; licensed accommodation by establishment type and district, 2025; establishment capacity on 1 October 2026.
- Istanbul Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism: Istanbul tourism statistics report, December 2024 : Monthly report (PDF): foreign visitor arrivals by month 2022–2024, and 2024 arrivals by nationality and border gate.
- Istanbul Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism: Istanbul tourism statistics report, December 2023 : Monthly report (PDF): foreign visitor arrivals by month 2021–2023, with 2023 described as the highest year on record.
- Ministry of Culture and Tourism: Border statistics annual bulletin 2025 : Foreign visitor arrivals by province and mode of transport (table 4), by border gate and month (table 5) and foreign same-day visitors by border gate 2023–2025 (table 12); compiled from border police records and TurkStat data.
- DHMİ (State Airports Authority): Airport statistics, December 2025 cumulative : Arriving and departing passengers by airport, domestic and international, January–December 2024 and 2025.
- DHMİ (State Airports Authority): Airport statistics, September 2026 cumulative : Arriving and departing passengers by airport, January–September 2025 and 2026; 2026 figures not final.
- TurkStat: Cultural Heritage Statistics, 2025 : News bulletin no. 58020 of 7 Sep 2026: museums and archaeological sites, visitor numbers by province.
- TurkStat: Tourism Statistics, Q3: July–September 2026 : News bulletin no. 58144 of 30 Oct 2026, with time-series tables 2012–Q3 2026: tourism income and average spend per visitor for Turkey as a whole.