The Culture and Tourism Ministry will introduce a new support scheme for Turkish television series that contribute to the international promotion of Türkiye, Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy has announced.
Speaking at a program titled “Support for Turkish TV Series Contributing to Tourism Promotion Worldwide” at the Atatürk Cultural Center (AKM), Ersoy said the ministry and the Türkiye Tourism Promotion and Development Agency (TGA) will provide financial backing of up to $100,000 in Turkish Liras per episode for series broadcast in Türkiye that meet designated criteria. The decision will take effect this year.
Ersoy underlined that the ministry makes extensive use of public and cultural diplomacy tools, working in coordination with institutions such as the Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities, the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency, the Yunus Emre Institute and the General Directorate of Foundations.
He said the ministry’s longstanding support for cinema and television has helped position Türkiye among the world’s leading exporters of TV content. “Today, Türkiye has become one of the top three television industries globally in terms of sales and export capacity,” he said, noting that the sector has surpassed $1 billion in export revenues.
According to Ersoy, Turkish series have evolved into a global brand reaching nearly 1 billion viewers across approximately 170 countries. Beyond commercial success, he stressed their cultural impact.
“Turkish series today are also the world’s largest Turkish-language course,” he said. “People thousands of kilometers away from us, from entirely different cultures, use Turkish words, try to learn Turkish, give their children Turkish names and express a desire to visit our country after watching these productions. This shows how deep and lasting the impact of this sector can be.”
He argued that such a fast-growing and globally influential industry should no longer be evaluated within old frameworks and that new steps are needed to ensure it contributes even more effectively to Türkiye’s cultural and tourism strategies.
Ersoy said the support will target series that are broadcast on at least three continents and in a minimum of 10 countries and that make a measurable contribution to Türkiye’s promotion.
Evaluation criteria will include the production’s contribution to promoting Türkiye and the Turkish language, whether the countries to which it is exported align with Türkiye’s tourism target markets, the number of export destinations, total sales revenue, ratings and viewership data.
“For each episode of series broadcast in Türkiye that meets our criteria, the ministry and TGA will provide support of up to $100,000 in Turkish Liras,” Ersoy said.
He clarified that although Turkish series are typically around 120 minutes per episode domestically and are edited into 40–45 minute segments for international markets, the ministry will base its calculations on the original Turkish broadcast version. This effectively corresponds to a maximum of around $33,000 per exported segment.
Ersoy also highlighted Türkiye’s recent tourism performance, stating that the country reached $65.231 billion in tourism revenue and hosted around 64 million visitors, ranking seventh globally in tourism income and fourth in visitor numbers. He said the government aims to increase these figures through innovative promotional tools, with TV series positioned as a “locomotive” of a new-generation promotion vision.
Promotion films and digital content
In addition to direct episode-based support, the ministry will introduce a promotional film purchasing model developed in cooperation with the sector.
Under this model, Türkiye’s historical, natural, gastronomic and archaeological assets will be integrated into series content through product placement and 30-second promotional films as well as short digital videos — commonly referred to as reels — will be purchased by TGA if they meet the specified criteria.
Ersoy said that priority will be given to productions that strengthen Türkiye’s tourism brand and showcase the country’s destination diversity and experiential richness to a wider international audience. In digital content in particular, the ministry expects an original narrative approach that highlights different tourism values through varied experiences.
He added that leading actors from supported series will be required to appear in promotional films and short digital videos, effectively transforming internationally recognized Turkish stars into tourism ambassadors.
Filming in destinations highlighted in Türkiye’s tourism strategy will also be encouraged, while bureaucratic procedures related to filming locations will be accelerated. Sites affiliated with the ministry will be allocated free of charge to qualifying productions.
Ersoy said a similar support mechanism has also been launched for feature films that promote Türkiye abroad, represent the country at major international A-list festivals and meet established criteria, adding that further details will be announced once finalized.
