Türkiye among most popular non-EU destinations for European travelers

Türkiye ranked among the top three destinations for tourism trips made by European Union residents outside the bloc in 2024, according to data released by Eurostat.

The UK, Türkiye and Switzerland were the three most popular destinations outside the European Union by number of trips made by EU residents last year, Eurostat said on Sunday.

EU residents made around 1.2 billion tourism trips in 2024, spending nearly 6 billion nights away from home, while total tourism expenditure reached €618 billion ($713 billion).

According to Eurostat, almost 73% of EU residents' foreign trips were made within the EU, while the remaining trips were to destinations outside the bloc.

The UK, Türkiye and Switzerland were the leading destinations outside the EU by number of trips in 2024.

Destinations outside the European continent accounted for only 13.1% of all foreign trips by EU residents.

Africa represented 4.5%, Asia 4.2% and the Americas 4.1%.

Eurostat noted that proximity remained an important factor in EU residents' choice of foreign destinations, with neighboring or nearby countries generally preferred for trips.

Italy was the most popular foreign destination overall for EU residents, accounting for 10.7% of all foreign trips, followed closely by Spain at 10.4%.