2024 was the year of records and surprises in tourism. After the year in which Istanbul and Antalya found their place in world lists, the predictions for 2025 are even more promising. So, can success in tourism be sustainable? Tourism professional Recep Yavuz evaluated the tourism report of 2024 and the expectations of next year.
Tourism professional Recep Yavuz made a comprehensive evaluation of 2024 as the end of the year approaches. According to Yavuz, World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and Euromonitor data reveal that 2024 will be a year full of both successes and remarkable data in terms of tourism. Pointing out that Istanbul and Antalya are at the top of the world rankings in terms of tourist numbers, Yavuz stated that global tourism expenditures have reached 1.9 trillion dollars. However, Yavuz emphasized that there are steps that need to be taken carefully to ensure the sustainability of this success and made hopeful predictions for 2025.
Here is the entire article of Tourism Professional Recep Yavuz titled “As the Year Ends…”:
“The year is ending.
Actually two words but how full they are. I don’t know about you, but I couldn’t warm up to this year 2024. It’s over, it’s gone, thank God…
Let’s take a look at the picture of tourism both in our country and in the world in 2024, in the light of the available data. Then let’s share our predictions for 2025. Speaking of available data, it takes March-April to compile and report the worldwide data published by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) every year. In order not to wait until then, I tried to compile a summary of the year that ended in the world, using the most reliable data available. As always, I take care to work with the most accurate and official sources and write only them, and I cite my sources. The main reference for this article is from Euromonitor data. From time to time, I bring my own interpretations to these data.
Recently, the British-based Euromonitor research company published a study conducted in collaboration with the Data Bank Lighthouse and shared an important tourism report for 2024 with the public. This study, which will make us both happy and a little sad, examines 100 tourism destinations in the world and includes two lists for 2024:
1. The 10 most attractive tourism centers in the world
2. The 10 most visited tourism centers in the world
Let’s start with the second list, which we would like more, and see which cities will receive the most tourists in 2024.
This study, which somewhat surprised the tourism world with its results, covers direct and transit arrivals to tourism destinations from abroad. That’s why the numbers are slightly higher than expected.
Let’s take a look at the list of the 10 Tourism Cities that receive the most visitors from abroad in 2024, according to Euromonitor data, and their increase compared to 2023:
I think the first thing that catches your attention on the list is that there are two cities from Turkey.Istanbul ranked second with 23 million, and Antalya ranked sixth with 19.3 million foreign visitors. The total number of foreign guests coming directly or in transit to these two cities is over 40 million. This is no longer just a record in numerical terms, but a well-deserved success that has strengthened world tourism. Türkiye was the only country with two cities in the top 10. Antalya, the only city on the list as a classic beach destination, will compete with Istanbul from now on, in my opinion. Istanbul ranked first in this table last year.
There are no cities from world tourism giants Spain and Italy in the table.Paris, where the Olympics are held this year, is in ninth place. Egypt and Portugal, the shining stars of recent years, are not on the list either. To which we constantly complain, Greece, with which we created unnecessary polemics, is also not on the list. No Rhodes, no Kos, no Lesbos…
There are 4 cities from Europe and 6 cities from Asia in the table. Tourism took off in Asia, where not a single leaf moved after the pandemic for a few years. The approach of world tourism to 1.5 billion has brought about increases in holiday regions in general. Except for war zones, there aren’t many destinations in decline.
Euromonitor writer and analyst Nadezhda Popova,According to Vitalij Vladykin and Vishnu Vardhan There was a 19% increase worldwide in 2024 and tourism expenditures reached 1.9 trillion US dollars.Europe continued to be the most popular region with 794 million international trips, and I would like to emphasize once again that we receive a very small share from Europe, as I showed with numbers in my previous article.
I think Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, which took first place with more than 32 million visitors, surprised you too. Bangkok, which barely reached 20 million visitors last year, ranked first in 2024 with a 37% increase. This was the surprise of the year in numerical terms. The 73% increase in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, is remarkable, but there must be a reason.
Of course, the table is created according to numbers, not reasons. For example, it reaches these numbers due to Mecca Hajj visits and Macau Casino visitors. Some cities on the list also reach high visitor numbers due to transit. It is almost impossible to equate them all and interpret them accordingly. However, if the number of overnight stays and tourism revenues are added, a clearer picture emerges.
By the way, whenever we talk about numbers, ‘what if they come?’ is asked. As far as I can follow, this issue is a common issue for all holiday destinations after the pandemic. Almost no country is satisfied with incomes. We will see when the exact data is announced, Turkey’s per capita tourism income will be above France and Greece. (Last year it was around $900).
When I started tourism, Turkey was not mentioned in world tourism either in the number of tourists or in tourism revenues. Now we are competing with London and Paris, let’s enjoy it.
WE ARE PRESENT IN NUMBER OF TOURISTS, BUT WE ARE NOT IN SUSTAINABILITY
Now let’s take a look at the second table prepared by Euromonitor for 2024, which will spoil the taste a little. this table The most attractive tourism destinations in the worldIt covers. For this Euromonitor created it by examining 100 tourism centers in the world under 6 main headings and 55 sub-headings.
Main topics:
1. Economic situation and business performance
2. Tourism performance
3. Tourism infrastructure
4. Tourism policy
5. Safety and Health structure
6. Sustainability
Travel City Index is created by measuring these criteria of destinations together with many side issues. The global leaders of this table, which was created according to the performance of destinations from nature and environment to the quality of job opportunities offered, from permanent and sustainable tourism policies to reliable health and security systems, are Paris, Madrid and Tokyo. While Europe stands out a little more in this table, it is seen that the level of development and welfare are effective. Here, the aim is to ensure that tourism is sustainable rather than the number of tourists.
Accordingly, the world’s most attractive tourism destinations are as follows:
1. Paris
2. Madrid
3. Tokyo
4. Rome
5. Milan
6. New York
7. Amsterdam
8. Sydney
9. Singapore
10. Barcelona
11.Taipei
12. Seoul
13. London
14. Dubai
15. Berlin
16.Osaka
17.Bangkok
18. Los Angeles
19. Istanbul
20.Melbourne
Antalya is not on the list, Istanbul is in 19th place. The cities here have their own successes.
Paris and London maintained their places on the list with their advantages in tourism infrastructure.
Singapore has been at the top for years with its economic performance (inflation dropped by 2.4%).
Bangkok and Thailand left their mark on the travel industry in 2024 with the visa policies they implemented, emphasizing freedom of travel. This year, Thailand granted a 60-day visa exemption to citizens of 93 countries.
New York was included in the list under the Tourism Performance heading, with New York reaching its pre-pandemic levels with long-term accommodation and high tourism income, and Bangkok with its high number of visitors.
Let’s take a look at the tourism destinations that are not on the list but attract attention with their special performances;
Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro maintained their leadership in this regard in 2024, when short-term rentals increased by 8% and reached a volume of 1 trillion US dollars.
Macau, Helsinki and Dublin took the top three places in terms of Health and Safety.
Oslo, Stockholm and Helsinki lead the way in the field of sustainability.
Now I want to ask you a question: ‘which of these two lists would you like to be on?’
The vast majority thought ‘both’. In other words, tourists should come, generate income, and tourism should continue permanently and continuously for many years without disturbing the chemistry, nature, order and peace of the country. In other words, records should not be broken every year, but tourism should be every year. Let there be no ups and downs, but a measurable and predictable tourism world. If we want to be permanent in the tourism world, we need to focus on these places.
THE MOST INCREASE IN 5 YEARS WILL BE IN THE USA, CHINA AND TURKEY
Euromonitor Authors have also made a simulation about the future. They particularly underline that the highest increase in tourists will occur in the USA, Türkiye and China until 2030, that is, in the next 5 years. This can also be analyzed from the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) reports after the pandemic.
They predict that five years from now, tourism spending will average $1,264. ($1,171 in 2023). In other words, tourism expenditure per capita is expected to remain below 10% in the next 5 years. It is estimated that the countries with the highest travel expenditures in 2024-2030 will be the Netherlands, China and Poland. In other words, the highest increase in tourists will be in these countries. The Netherlands and Poland are at the top of Türkiye and especially Antalya, which means we are on the right track.
Naturally, per capita tourism expenditures will also increase. After five years, average per capita tourism expenditure will increase to 1,264 dollars. New York, Los Angeles and Tokyo will be the most expensive tourist cities.
All this says that Tourism will continue to be one of the most important sectors in the world in the coming years. And it will rapidly progress towards becoming the largest sector in the Turkish economy.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TOLD THE FORTUNE OF 2025
Let’s take a look at the tourism fortune of 2025! Of course, let’s get a prediction with the help of artificial intelligence, not with the beans and beans of the fortune tellers we once listened to with a sweet smile. After all, artificial intelligence provides us with a report by downloading countless data and comparing them with previous years and current data in order to create a data. So the margin of error is quite low.
So I asked artificial intelligence. ‘Which cities will receive the most tourists in the world in 2025?’ He answered within ten seconds with his reasons.
Accordingly, the city that will receive the most tourists in 2025 will be Bangkok, as it was this year. As in the Euromonitor 2024 list, Paris, London, Istanbul and Antalya from Europe will still be in the top 10. Kuala Lumpur and Singapore are coming strong. New York will find a place in the top ten again after the pandemic.
We will live and see!..
THE ONLY AGENDA IN EUROPE IN 2025 WILL BE ‘OVERTOURISM’
In my opinion, World Tourism will struggle with the issue of ‘Over tourism’ in 2025. Try to remember what happened in the past two years. What happened, from those who sprayed tourists with water guns to those who kicked tourists’ sun loungers? Hundreds of thousands of people in Spain have repeatedly held mass marches and protests against overtourism. This will continue to increase next year. Bans, sanctions and restrictions will follow each other. We will hear a new regulation about this every day.
Important tourism centers become unable to bear this load at certain periods. Every settlement has a capacity and buoyancy. Overloading and forcing this will result in making tourism difficult. I cannot agree with Aktob President Dear Erkan Yağcı on this issue. Thanks to Aktob, he touched upon this issue briefly at the congress, but implied that this would not be a problem for Türkiye by dividing the number of incoming tourists by the country’s surface area. The number of incoming tourists was correct, but the divided surface area should have been the places with tourist density, not the country. We cannot remain insensitive to these warnings developing around us, we must focus on solutions now. Our country is large and wide enough, our coasts are long, and distributing this density throughout the country would be the most rational solution.
Hoping to see Antalya and Istanbul on both lists one day, I wish everyone many happy years in health and peace.”
