Abstract:

Since the 1980s, the development of tourism in Turkey, which possesses vulnerable dynamics in response to external shocks such as social and economic events, political crises, conflicts, wars, natural disasters, and pandemics, has increased. With the implementation of national policies and strategies, the systematic approach to Turkey's tourism began during the planned period. To understand the development of Turkey’s tourism, it is crucial to analyze the temporal and spatial dynamics of international tourism movements to Turkey. This study aims to reveal the changes in foreign tourism movements to Turkey between 1973 and 2022 related various variables. These variables include the annual and monthly fluctuations in foreign tourists' numbers, as well as variations based on the means of transportation used. Moreover, the distribution and changes related the provinces corresponding to the border crossing point and their countries of origin were also examined. Secondary data obtained from various sources were analyzed and tables, graphs, and maps related to the subject were prepared for evaluation. It can be observed that international tourism to Turkey gained momentum starting from the 1980s, while global, regional, and national crisis caused periodic fluctuations in foreign tourist demand. Despite the implementation of policies to extend tourism throughout the year and to Anatolia, to diversify the market, and to develop alternative tourism types after the 1990s, the seasonality of tourism and concentration in coastal areas have remained problematic. In fact, the dominance of the European market in the countries of origin of foreign tourists continued, and potential markets such as Southeast Asia remained untapped.

Keywords: