Türkiye’s tourism income jumped to $46.3 billion in 2022, the country’s statistical authority announced on Tuesday.

The figure surged 53.4% from $30.2 billion in 2021, TurkStat said.

The average expenditure per night for overnight visitors was $89.

Most tourists – 67.1% – visited Türkiye for travel, entertainment, sports, and cultural activities last year.

In 2022, the number of Turkish citizens traveling abroad soared 165.4% to 7.3 million compared to 2021, with their average expenditure coming to $589 per capita, TurkStat reported.​​​​​​​

The country attracted some 44.6 million foreign tourists in 2022, a rise of 80.3% from a year earlier.

The figure nearly reached the pre-virus level of 45 million in 2019, the Culture and Tourism Ministry data showed.

Istanbul, Türkiye’s most famous city and its largest by population, was the top draw for foreign visitors, welcoming more than 16 million tourists.

It was followed by the resort city of Antalya with 12.8 million visitors, while Edirne, a city in northwestern Türkiye bordering Bulgaria and Greece, welcomed 4.6 million tourists.

At 5.7 million, Germans made up 12.7% of all visitors, followed by Russians at 5.2 million, Britons at 3.3 million, Bulgarians at 2.9 million, and Iranians at 2.3 million.

If Turkish citizens living abroad are added to the count, then 2022 figure goes up to 51.4 million, slightly down from 51.9 million in 2019.

In December alone, foreign arrivals in Türkiye were up 26.8% year-on-year to 2.4 million.