Changing of the international tourism movements towards Turkey, for the years 1990 and 2015

Tourism is a temporary movement of people to a destination of their choice intended for leisure or recreation. In 2016, 1.235 billion people participated in the international tourism movement around the world. Turkey ranks in the top ten countries in international tourist arrivals. In this study, the structure of the international tourism movement towards Turkey is evaluated according to nationalities, number of arrivals, arrivals to facilities, night spends and average length of stay. The study’s main data source is the border entry and exit statistics for the years 1990 and 2015, is published by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. From the data obtained from the Ministry were created thematic maps, using ArcGIS 10.1 software. The generated maps, has contributed to more rapid analysis of international tourism movement towards Turkey. According to the findings of the research; 75% of visitors, coming to Turkey is the European origin. It is remarked that primarily foreign visitors coming to Turkey is from Germany, Russia and neighboring countries such as Georgia, Iran, Bulgaria. The number of entrances to facilities is higher Western European countries than others. On the other hand the number of entrances to facilities from neighboring countries is relatively low. The average night spends is highest in Baltic countries