How Do You Evaluate the Current State of Sports Tourism in Turkey?
Turkey has become an attractive destination for many sports due to its geographical diversity, climatic advantages, modern sports facilities, and accessibility. By 2024, Turkey has high potential in the field of sports tourism across many sports. Especially in the winter season, Turkey has become a popular destination for foreign football teams. Regions such as Antalya, Belek, Side, Alanya, İzmir, Istanbul, Kayseri, Erzurum, and Afyon offer special services with modern hotels and sports camps. In 2024, football tourism contributed 550 million dollars to the Turkish economy. This contribution is expected to increase further with training camps, tournaments, and preparatory matches. Turkey is one of the leading destinations in Europe for football camps.
In terms of golf tourism, Belek has made Turkey one of Europe’s most important golf centers. World-class golf courses in Antalya, Belek, Bodrum, and Kuşadası host international tournaments. In 2024, golf tourism generated approximately 950 million dollars in revenue. Belek continues to be an attractive destination for golf enthusiasts with its quality services.
Antalya, İzmir, Istanbul, and Ankara have tennis facilities that host national and international tennis tournaments. Turkey continues to grow in the sport of tennis and offers young athletes educational and competitive opportunities through international tournaments, camps, and training centers. In 2024, tennis tourism contributed approximately 180 million dollars to Turkey.
Winter sports tourism has made Turkey an appealing destination for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter activities. Popular ski resorts like Uludağ, Palandöken, Erciyes, Kartalkaya, and Sarıkamış serve domestic and foreign tourists with modern facilities and extensive slopes. In 2024, winter sports tourism generated 300 million dollars in revenue. Especially, Erciyes and Palandöken stand out with slopes and accommodation options that meet international standards.
Rapidly growing water sports tourism in coastal cities attracts a wide audience with activities such as diving, sailing, and rafting. Regions like Antalya, Muğla, Fethiye, Dalaman, and Kaş have become popular destinations for water sports due to their suitable natural structures and climatic advantages. In 2024, water sports tourism contributed 250 million dollars to the economy.
Turkey has become a popular destination for cycling tourism with international cycling races, tours, and cycling routes. Regions like Cappadocia, Antalya, Muğla, and İzmir offer unique experiences for cycling enthusiasts with their natural beauties and challenging routes. In 2024, cycling tourism generated approximately 120 million dollars in revenue. Especially, the cycling paths in Cappadocia host internationally renowned competitions.
Hiking and mountaineering in nature significantly contribute to the diversity of tourism in Turkey. Areas like the Kaçkar Mountains, Aladağlar, the Lycian Way, and Cappadocia are among the most popular routes for hiking and climbing enthusiasts. In 2024, these sports generated approximately 90 million dollars in revenue. Turkey is an attractive center for nature sports enthusiasts with its natural landscapes.
Turkey has become an important sports tourism center with international basketball and volleyball tournaments, preparatory matches, and camps. Modern sports halls in major cities like Istanbul, Ankara, and İzmir contribute to the development of these sports. In 2024, basketball and volleyball tourism generated about 100 million dollars in annual economic contributions. Turkey will continue to be an attractive center, especially for young athletes.
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Turkey offers rich opportunities for sports tourism throughout the four seasons and hosts various sports branches in different seasons of the year. The country’s diverse geographical regions, modern facilities, suitable climatic conditions, and advanced infrastructures have made it an attractive center for athletes. Since 2023, cities like Antalya, Istanbul, Erzurum, Kayseri, Bolu, Muğla, Cappadocia, Afyon, and İzmir have stood out in the field of sports tourism.
Is the Iranian market an important target for Turkey's sports tourism? Geographically, Turkey’s sports tourism can serve as a window for connecting Iran with the world. With its developed infrastructure and facilities, Turkey can meet Iran’s sports tourism needs as a neighboring country. Considering the long-standing friendship and cooperation between the two countries, Turkey is an important destination for Iran’s sports tourism.
Given your successful experience in developing sports tourism in Antalya, what collaboration opportunities do you see between Turkey and Iran in the field of sports tourism? Antalya, with its advanced sports facilities and suitable infrastructure, is considered a suitable region for holding training camps for Iran due to the ease of flights. I recommend Iranian citizens to travel to this region in groups without any security concerns and have an excellent training period in these modern sports facilities. As a sports tourism association, we are ready to provide support and consultancy in any sports area.
How can Iran, as a country with diverse natural and cultural potentials, benefit from Turkey's successful experiences and models in sports tourism, and what types of collaborations are anticipated between the two countries in this field? Turkey is the only country that can serve as a model for the development of sports tourism in Iran. Within the framework of the friendship between Iran and Turkey, we can establish specialized committees at the ministry level to exchange information and experiences and carry out serious activities in this industry.
Holding international sports events in both countries will have a significant impact on attracting sports tourists. Do you have any plans or proposals for organizing such joint events between Iran and Turkey? We are working on projects to strengthen sports tourism in Turkey, and we hope to announce the results of these projects to you soon. Organizing international tournaments and having our Iranian brothers participate in these events will make us happy. In this way, we can develop the culture of organizing joint events and strengthen relationships between countries.
How do you assess the interest of Iranian tourists in Turkey's sports facilities and events? It seems that Turkey’s sports facilities have not been adequately promoted in Iran. Therefore, we can increase Iran’s interest in Turkey’s sports opportunities through international-level projects.
