Nearly 1.74 million Bulgarians visited Turkey in the first eight months of 2026 – 1,738,991 visits, or about 5% of all foreign visits to the country for the period. Data from the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism show a minimal decrease of 0.4% compared to the same months in 2025.
In August alone, Turkey registered 244,062 visits by Bulgarian citizens. For comparison, during the whole of 2025, visits from Bulgaria were 2,808,357. According to this indicator, Bulgaria ranks fifth among foreign markets for Turkey – after Russia, Germany, Great Britain and Iran.
Turkey is the leader among organized holidays of Poles
In parallel with the sustained interest in Bulgaria, Turkey also maintains its leading position on the Polish market of organized holidays. According to the report of the Polish Chamber of Tourism for the summer season 2026, Turkey is chosen by 28.3% of travel agency clients.
Greece is in second place with 18%, followed by Egypt with 13.6%, Spain with 9.6% and Bulgaria with 7.5%. Turkey, Greece and Egypt together collect about 60% of sales of organized holidays abroad. It is important to note that the data refer to tourist packages purchased through agencies, and not to all trips of Poles abroad.
The strongest position is the Turkish Mediterranean. The Turkish Riviera holds 21.6% of the market share of regional destinations preferred by Polish tourists. Between 2010 and 2025, the number of Polish visitors to Antalya increased by approximately 462%, while for Turkey as a whole the growth was around 347%.
Focus shifts to a longer season
In 2024, Polish residents made 16.4 million tourist trips abroad. Spending by Poles over 15 years old on overnight trips abroad reached PLN 45.2 billion, an increase of 12.6% in one year.
Against this backdrop, the chairman of the Mediterranean Hoteliers and Operators Union, Kaan Kashif Kavaloglu, said: “Turkey must not only increase the number of visitors, but also offer new reasons to travel.“ According to him, package holidays and the “all-inclusive” system should be preserved, but supplemented with cultural, nature and sports experiences.
The aim is to extend the tourist season beyond the summer months. For Antalya, this means attracting visitors over a longer period and a more diverse profile of tourists, not just an increase in their numbers.