By The European Times | Created at 2026-07-20 08:46:35 | Updated at 2026-08-04 01:57:00
2 weeks ago
More and more foreign tourists are choosing Turkey for their summer vacation, cultural tourism and visiting historical landmarks. Against this background, the country has achieved historic success, ranking fourth among the most visited tourist countries in the world.
According to the latest report “Most Visited Countries in 2026”, prepared by World Population Review based on data from the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UN Tourism), Turkey has received 60.6 million foreign visitors and for the first time has climbed to fourth place in the world ranking. Only France with 102 million visitors, Spain with 93.8 million and the United States of America with 73.4 million are ahead of it. After Turkey, countries with established tourism traditions such as Italy, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan and Greece remain.
The success is indicative of the rapid development of tourism in the country in recent years. In addition to the record number of visitors, Turkey also reports tourism revenues of over $56.3 billion, which ranks it among the strongest tourism economies in the world.
One of the main reasons for the impressive development of tourism is Turkey’s vast cultural and historical heritage. The country has dozens of sites under the protection of UNESCO, hundreds of museums, ancient cities, fortresses, palaces and archaeological reserves. In recent years, the Turkish authorities have invested heavily in the restoration of historical monuments, archaeological excavations, the construction of new museums and the development of cultural routes.
The program for evening visits to museums, which allows viewing a number of sites after sunset, is also of great interest.
According to the international report, the rise to fourth place in the world shows that Turkey is no longer just a popular place for summer vacation, but one of the leading tourist powers worldwide. For foreign tourists, this means an even wider choice of vacation options, visiting world-famous historical landmarks, modern resorts and new cultural routes, which attract more and more guests from all over the world every year.
Illustrative photo: pexels-silverkblack-23227969
