Spends of foreign visitors to Turkey in 2017 reached a total of 1.4 billion lira in their retail goods purchases including garments, jewelry, carpets and cosmetics.
Evaluating the value added tax (VAT) refund transactions carried out in Turkey (tax free), Global Blue Turkey General Manager Selim Sheyhun said foreign visitors coming to Turkey in 2017 spend a total of TL 1.4 billion.
Sheyhun stated that foreign visitors received a total VAT refund of TL 75 million by completing the tax-free transactions for the TL 716 million portion of their said purchases, recalling that in 2017, foreign purchases grew by 32 percent compared to 2016. He also added that the number of transactions remained the same as last year, while the average expenditure per shopping increased by 31 percent due to the increase in exchange rates and the inflation, compared to last year.