Influx of Saudi tourists to Turkey

Foreign tourism statistics announced by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism for November 2022 revealed that there was an influx of Saudi tourists to Turkey.

Consequently, while only 932 Saudi tourists arrived in Turkey in November 2021, this number increased to 65,339 in November 2022.

In the period January-November 2022, the number of Saudi tourists arriving in Turkey increased by almost 5 times compared to the same period of the previous year, reaching 460,450 people.

The normalization of relations between the two countries was effective in this increase.

INCREASED AFTER SELMAN’S VISIT

The number of tourists began to increase after the lifting of the embargo on Turkey and the official visit of the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, to Ankara in June.

While the number of Saudi tourists arriving in Turkey was 13,346 in June 2022, this number increased to 110,991 in July and 140,203 in August.

While this number decreased to 68,107 people in September, the number was seen to increase exponentially compared to September of the previous year. While only 698 Saudi tourists arrived in Turkey in September 2021, this number surpassed 68,000 in September 2022.

Likewise, the number of Saudi tourists, which was 874 in October 2021, exceeded 56,000 in October 2022.

RELATIONS BEGAN TO NORMALIZE IN JUNE

The normalization of the Ankara-Riyadh line, where relations broke down after the assassination of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Consulate General of Saudi Arabia in Istanbul in 2018, began on June 22, 2022 with the visit of the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Selman to Turkey.

After the face-to-face meeting of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Selman, a meeting between the delegations was also held. In the joint statement issued after the meeting, it was stated that “During the meetings, the determination to start a new period of cooperation in bilateral relations, including political, economic, military and security, was emphasized.”