Business Desk 
Feb 12, 2025
Turkiye has gained 9.8% year-on-year growth in its visitor numbers and hosted 62.269.890 visitors in 2024, showcasing a 20.3% growth compared to 2019, the pre-pandemic year.
The total number includes over 135,000 Pakistani tourists. With this figure, Turkiye reached its target of 60 million visitors in 2024.
According to the statistics issued by the Turkiye Tourism Promotion and Development Agency, Türkiye generated $61.1 billion in tourism revenue, which is 8.3% more than the previous year.
Reportedly, Europe, the Middle East, and Central Asia have remained Türkiye’s biggest source markets, while emerging markets such as the Americas, India, and China showed great growth in 2024.
On the other hand, Russia, Germany, and the United Kingdom (UK) remained Türkiye’s top three biggest source markets. The growth in the number of visitors from emerging markets was 8.1% for the USA and a phenomenal 65.1% for China.
According to United Nations (UN) Tourism, Türkiye ranks among the world's top five most visited destinations in 2023.
The majority of the Pakistanis also participated in the Istanbul Marathon, well known as the world’s only intercontinental race, starting on the Asian side of Istanbul and ending on the European side.
In the 46th edition of the Istanbul Marathon held in November 2024, out of approximately 7,500 runners in the main Marathon, Amjad Ali of Pakistan achieved the remarkable feat of finishing in 47th position, completing the 42-kilometre race in 2 hours, 49 minutes, and 29 seconds.
