Turks residing in Europe spent an average €1,175 during holidays taken in Turkey last year, whereas German tourists spent an average €590 while vacationing in the country, state-run news service Anadolu reported, citing research by Istanbul-based foundation TAVAK.

Last year, 4.5mn German nationals visited Turkey, a figure corresponding to 11.4% of all foreign tourist arrivals.

The study classifies Turks living in Europe as ‘European Turks.”

In 2018, a total of 2.8mn European Turks spent their main holiday in Turkey and 1.9mn of them were Turks who live in Germany.

To address a tourism slump, hotels and resorts in Turkey have in the past two years been offering heavy discounts.

According to the study, 47% of the European Turks who came to Turkey for a holiday stayed an average 24 days in the country. They mostly visited Istanbul, and popular tourist destinations such as Antalya, Bodrum, and Cesme, among locations on either the Mediterranean or Aegean coasts.

Turkey generated €3.3mn in tourism revenues from European Turks last year.

European Turks spent some €460 on accommodation, some €530 on food, drinks and souvenirs and another €106 on entertainment, the study estimated.

According to TAVAK, more than 5.7mn Turks reside in 28 European Union countries, with 2.4mn holding Turkish citizenship. Germany hosts the largest Turkish population, with 3mn, followed by the Netherlands with 480,000 and France with 540,000.