The number of British visitors coming to Türkiye could reach a record 5 million this year, Britain’s envoy to Ankara said recently in the Mediterranean resort city of Antalya.
Wrapping up a weeklong tour of the Turkish Riviera, a consular tradition, British envoy to Ankara Jill Morris told Anadolu Agency (AA) that this year they visited Izmir, Aydın, Bodrum, Muğla, Marmaris, Fethiye and Antalya along the country’s Aegean and Mediterranean coasts.
The tour, she said, aims to visit U.K. Consulates and consular staff in the region as well as governors, mayors, and local authorities to recognize their support for millions of British visitors and expats so they can enjoy safe, happy holidays.
"One of the things that has struck me this year is the continuing growth in the number of British visitors coming to Türkiye," she said. "In 2023, there were 3.3 million, last year, 4-and-a-half million. And we may look at another record year of 5 million British visitors to Türkiye."
Morris said the expansion of the Antalya Airport "would lead to an increase in the number of visitors."
"This expansion to increase the capacity of passengers from 35 million to 82 million was very significant. Another big advantage for British travellers was the opportunity to reach Antalya with direct flights from almost all of the major cities in the U.K.," the envoy said, explaining how convenient the coastal resort city is for holiday planners.
Attracting nearly one-third of all foreign visitors to Türkiye with its long summer season, Blue Flag beaches and crystal-clear water, Antalya is eying new records with major expansion projects at its airport, whose second phase was completed in April. The ambitious project included nearly tripling the size of its international airport from a current 90,143 square meters (970,291 square feet) to 224,000 square meters (2.4 million square feet) and boosting its passenger capacity to 82 million.
"British people love to come, of course, for the sea and the sun. But there is cultural tourism, nature tourism, sport tourism and gastronomy. So there's a diverse range of experiences, which attracts so many people to this wonderful country," Morris added.
International tourism has rebounded to pre-pandemic levels, according to the UNWTO. Its latest data shows France ranks as the world’s top tourism destination, followed by Spain, the U.S., Italy, and Türkiye, expecting to attract 61 million tourists this year.
Morris said that trade is growing, pointing to the Turkish government’s ongoing sustainability investments across Türkiye.
"There's a lot of work happening in the areas of sustainability, sustainable energy, sustainable infrastructure, transport and agriculture as well. And this is one area where our two countries have a shared vision and where our businesses are very engaged," she underlined.
The U.K. and Türkiye boast a vibrant economic relationship, with trade between the two totaling around 26 billion pounds ($37 billion) in 2024, making Türkiye the U.K.’s 16th largest trading partner.
Hailing the first week of May for its positive outcomes for Turkish-U.K. relations, Morris said: "Overall, our bilateral relationship continues to go from strength to strength across all sectors."
"Türkiye for us is a priority. It's a priority partner across the board," she said.
"We are strategic partners in foreign policy, in defense, in defense industry and in tackling shared security challenges such as counterterrorism and illegal migration," she said.
"This week has been a very significant week with the visit by Trade Minister (Ömer) Bolat to the U.K., where together with our Secretary of State for Trade (Jonathan Reynolds), they announced that we will be launching the formal round, the first formal round of negotiations for a new modernized free trade agreement before the end of July," Morris said.
"This agreement will build on our current agreement, which covers mostly goods. And a new modern, expanded, enhanced agreement will allow us to cover areas such as services, technology and digital in a way that really reflects the dynamism of our two modern economies," she stressed.
She also said relevant ministries signed an agreement this week in London, "which will make it easier for Turkish and British businesses to be able to import and export, and it will reduce the costs for businesses."
She was referring to an upgraded Technical Barriers to Trade chapter, in the form of an amendment to the 2020 U.K.-Türkiye Free Trade Agreement, which closely aligns provisions with those found in the U.K.-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement.
"So, a very significant and positive week on our trade agenda this week," she said.
Asked about Türkiye's potential contributions to Europe's security amid weakening transatlantic ties under the Trump administration in the U.S., she said Ankara "absolutely" has a role to play as a NATO ally.
"Absolutely, as NATO partners, we work incredibly closely together on the whole question of Europe's security and defense, but also more broadly, Türkiye as an indispensable ally in NATO. It is the largest NATO force in Europe, the second-largest in NATO overall, and plays such an important part on the southern flank of NATO," she stressed.
"So we continue to work very closely together and indeed here in Antalya next week, NATO foreign ministers will be discussing NATO's priorities and the challenges," she added.
Besides hosting millions of tourists annually, Antalya also welcomes world leaders for major events such as the G-20, NATO summits, and the annual Antalya Diplomacy Forum (ADF).
Morris said she attended the forum last month along with State Minister Stephen Doughty and found it a "very valuable opportunity" to highlight the role of diplomacy "in an uncertain and challenging, unstable global context."
She said that seeing "the very many high-level representatives from countries and the region, I think, demonstrated the importance of diplomacy at this current global moment."
