According to TÜİK's report, a substantial increase in package tour sales was noted. Throughout the year, travelers in Türkiye purchased a total of 20 billion 667 million Turkish Liras worth of package tours, which marks a considerable component of the tourism sector’s revenue stream. This figure highlights a robust demand for organized travel options within the country, signaling a resilient domestic tourism industry.
In 2023, a total of 61 million 463 thousand trips were made domestically by residents of Türkiye, reflecting a 17.5% increase compared to the previous year.
The total number of overnight stays during these trips rose by 10.9% from the previous year to 473 million 79 thousand, with an average stay duration of 7.7 nights.
Throughout the year, domestic travelers spent a total of 229 billion 795 million Turkish Liras, marking a significant 101% increase compared to the previous year. Of these expenditures, 209 billion 128 million Liras were personal expenses, accounting for 91% of the total, while package tours constituted 9%, amounting to 20 billion 667 million Liras. The average spending per trip was approximately 3,739 Liras.
In the fourth quarter alone, domestic travelers undertook 11 million 509 thousand trips, an increase of 32% over the same quarter of the previous year, with 77 million 472 thousand overnight stays recorded. The spending during this quarter surged by 140% year-over-year to 45 billion 734 million Liras. Personal expenses made up 93% of these expenditures, totaling 42 billion 526 million Liras, and package tour expenses accounted for 7%, amounting to 3 billion 208 million Liras.
Spending categories for the fourth quarter showed that food and beverage expenses held the largest share at 30.2%, followed closely by transportation at 30%, and accommodation expenses at 11.6%. Compared to the same period of the previous year, there were substantial increases in spending on food and beverages (136.2%), transportation (126%), and accommodations (189.9%).
Annually, the distribution of expenses was slightly different, with food and beverage again taking the lead at 32%, transportation expenses at 26.3%, and accommodation at 17%. These categories saw year-over-year increases of 111% in food and beverages, 72% in transportation, and 164.3% in accommodation.
Visiting relatives was the most common reason for travel, accounting for 60.5% of trips in the quarter. Other popular travel purposes included sightseeing, entertainment, and vacations, which accounted for 26.7%, and health-related trips at 5.2%.
Over the year, visiting relatives remained the top travel motive at 58.3%, followed by tourism, entertainment, and vacations at 33.1%, and health at 3.7%.
Regarding accommodations, the majority of overnight stays were at the homes of friends or relatives, which accounted for 320 million 410 thousand nights throughout the year. Own homes and hotels followed, with 72 million 620 thousand and 38 million 263 thousand overnight stays respectively.
