ANTALYA

The number of British visitors to Türkiye this year is expected to top a record 5 million, Britain’s envoy to Ankara said Friday in the Turkish Mediterranean resort city of Antalya.

Wrapping up a weeklong tour of the Turkish Riviera, a consular tradition, Jill Morris told Anadolu in an exclusive interview that this year they visited Izmir, Aydin, Bodrum, Mugla, Marmaris, Fethiye, and Antalya along the country’s Aegean and Mediterranean coasts.

The tour, she said, aims to visit UK 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 numbers of British visitors who are coming to Türkiye,” she said. “In 2023, there were 3.3 million, last year four-and-a-half million. And we may be looking at another record year of 5 million British visitors to Türkiye.”

Morris said the expansion of the Antalya Airport "of course, would lead to an increase in number of visitors."

❝British people love to come, of course, for the sea and the sun. But there is cultural tourism, nature tourism, sport tourism, and gastronomy❞

The number of British visitors to Türkiye is expected to hit a record 5 million this year, Jill Morris, Britain's envoy to Ankara,… pic.twitter.com/5rQzIcWgGl

— Anadolu English (@anadoluagency) May 10, 2025

Antalya convenient destination for UK 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 United Kingdom," the envoy said, explaining how convenient the coastal resort city is for holiday planners.ttracting 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 ft) and boosting its passenger capacity to 82 million.

"British people love to come, of course, for the sea and the sun. But there is the cultural tourism, nature tourism, sport tourism, gastronomy. So there's a very diverse range of experiences, which is what attracts so many people to this wonderful country," Morris added.

International tourism has rebounded to pre-pandemic levels, according to UN Tourism. Its latest data shows France ranks as the world’s top tourism destination, followed by Spain, the U.S., Italy, and then Türkiye, which expects to attract 61 million tourists this year.

Morris went on to say 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 UK and Türkiye boast a vibrant economic relationship, with trade between the two totaling around £26 billion ($37B) in 2024, making Türkiye the UK’s 16th largest trading partner.

New Free Trade Agreement talks formally start in July

Hailing the first week of May for its positive outcomes for Turkish-UK 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 challenges, shared security challenges such as counter-terrorism and illegal migration," she said.

"This week has been a very significant week with the visit by Trade Minister (Omer) Bolat to the United Kingdom, 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 the agreement we currently have, which covers mostly goods. And a new modern expanded, enhanced agreement will allow us to cover areas such as services, technology, digital in a way that really reflects the dynamism of our two modern economies," she stressed.

She also said an agreement was signed this week in London by relevant ministries "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 UK-Türkiye Free Trade Agreement, which closely aligns provisions with those found in the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement.

"So a very significant and positive week this week on our trade agenda," she said.

Ankara major ally in NATO

Asked about Türkiye's potential contributions to Europe's security amid weakening transatlantic ties under the US’ Trump administration, 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 holding discussions about NATO's priorities and the challenges," she added.

Antalya Diplomacy Forum

Besides hosting millions of tourists annually, Antalya also welcomes world leaders for major events such as the G20, NATO summits, and annual Antalya Diplomacy Forum.

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 seeing there "the very many high-level representatives from countries, the region, I think demonstrated the importance of diplomacy at this current global moment."