The Turkish Statistical Institute reported on Tuesday that 8 million 262 thousand residents undertook domestic trips in the first quarter of 2024.

This period, encompassing January, February, and March, saw a 2.3% decrease in domestic trips compared to the same quarter of the previous year, totaling 9 million 854 thousand trips. Domestic visitors made 65 million 239 thousand overnights, with an average of 6.6 overnights per trip.

Domestic Tourism Expenditures Surge by 103.2%

During this quarter, domestic tourists' expenditures increased by 103.2% compared to the same period last year, reaching 45 billion 262 million 452 thousand TL. Individual expenditures accounted for 95.6% of this total, amounting to 43 billion 273 million 587 thousand TL, while package tour expenditures made up 4.4%, totaling 1 billion 988 million 864 thousand TL. The average expenditure per trip was 4 thousand 593 TL.

Breakdown of Travel Expenditures

Analyzing the distribution of expenditure types, the highest shares were eating and drinking (33.3%), transportation (28.8%), and accommodation (10.9%). Compared to the previous year, there were significant increases in eating and drinking expenditures (91.4%), transportation expenditures (80.8%), and accommodation expenditures (127.3%).

Primary Purpose of Trips: Visiting Relatives

The primary purpose of domestic trips was visiting relatives, accounting for 64% of the trips. This was followed by travel, leisure, and vacation purposes (22.5%) and health-related trips (6.6%).

Accommodation Preferences

Domestic visitors predominantly stayed at the homes of friends or relatives, totaling 53 million 228 thousand overnights. Hotels were the second most popular accommodation choice, with 4 million 971 thousand overnights, followed by visitors staying in their own homes, totaling 4 million 354 thousand overnights.

These statistics highlight the trends and shifts in domestic tourism in Türkiye during the first quarter of 2024. (ILKHA)