The number of visitors to museums and archaeological sites increased by 17 percent in 2017, reaching 20,509,746

NUMBER OF MUSEUM AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE VISITORS INCREASED BY 17 PERCENT

The number of visitors to museums and archaeological sites affiliated with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism increased by 17 percent in 2017, reaching 20 million 509 thousand 746.

The number of museum and archaeological site visitors is projected to increase by approximately 20 percent in 2018, reaching 25 million.

According to data from the Central Directorate of the Revolving Fund Enterprise of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, while 17 million 521 thousand 316 people visited the museums and archaeological sites affiliated with the Ministry in 2016, the number of visitors in 2017 increased by 17 percent, reaching 20 million 509 thousand 746 visitors.

The Ministry projects that the number of museum and archaeological site visitors will increase by approximately 20 percent in 2018, reaching 25 million.

In parallel with the increasing number of visitors, museum and archaeological site revenues in 2017 also increased by 13 percent compared to 2016, reaching approximately 190 million TL.

The number of Museum Cards (Müzekart) that can be purchased by citizens of the Republic of Turkey was 903 thousand 246 in 2016, and in 2017 this figure increased by approximately 17.5 percent, reaching 1 million 65 thousand 966.

Mevlana Museum Ranks First

The Konya Mevlana Museum was the most-visited museum of last year with 2 million 480 thousand 433 visitors; the Istanbul Topkapi Palace Museum hosted 1 million 932 thousand 726 visitors, the Istanbul Hagia Sophia Museum 1 million 892 thousand 250, the Denizli Hierapolis (Pamukkale) Archaeological Site 1 million 494 thousand 893, the Izmir Ephesus Archaeological Site 996 thousand 800, the Nevsehir Goreme Archaeological Site 682 thousand 785, the Nevsehir Hacibektas Museum 498 thousand 880, the Aksaray Ihlara Valley Archaeological Site 386 thousand 590, the Ankara Republic Museum 360 thousand 879, and the Harem Section of the Istanbul Topkapi Palace Museum 353 thousand 285 visitors.

In the comparison of museum and archaeological site visitors between 2016 and 2017, the Nevsehir Kaymakli Underground City ranked first with a 97 percent increase, the Nevsehir Hacibektas Museum ranked second with a 63 percent increase, the Denizli Pamukkale Archaeological Site ranked third with a 53 percent increase, and the Istanbul Hagia Sophia Museum and the Istanbul Topkapi Palace Museum ranked third with a 32 percent increase.