Ankara vs İzmir

İzmir leads Ankara by 8 points on the CIRA Index, 61 to 53. Ankara grades better on 3 measures, İzmir on 5; the same 35 measures from public sources for both.

Scores by each organisation's criteria

• CIRA Index: Ankara 53, İzmir 61
• OECD: Ankara 54, İzmir 60
• UN Tourism: Ankara 57, İzmir 72
• UNDRR: Ankara 49, İzmir 50

Theme by theme

• Demand and seasonality: Ankara 50, İzmir 45
• Economy and jobs: Ankara 75, İzmir 75
• Climate and hazards: Ankara 45, İzmir 25
• Water and environment: Ankara 56, İzmir 75
• Community and housing: Ankara 50, İzmir 100
• Access and continuity: Ankara 54, İzmir 63

Where Ankara is stronger

• Extreme heat days: 11.6 days a year at or above 35°C (last 5 full years) (ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo, 2021–2025). Between 5 and 15: grade 3/4.
• Tropical nights: 13.4 nights a year with a minimum at or above 20°C (last 5 full years) (ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo, 2021–2025). Between 10 and 30: grade 3/4.
• Municipal waste per resident: 430.7 kg per resident per year (EBRD Green Cities / Ankara Metropolitan Municipality (Ankara Green City Action Plan), 2020). Between 350 and 450: grade 3/4.

Where İzmir is stronger

• Average length of stay: 2 nights per visitor (region figure) (Türkiye Turizm Veri Atlası & Ministry of Culture and Tourism (KTB) Konaklama İstatistikleri, 2025). Between 1.8 and 2.2: grade 1/4.
• Wastewater safely treated: 98.6 % of domestic wastewater safely treated (metro figure) (İzmir Büyükşehir Belediyesi / TÜİK (Belediye Atıksu Arıtma Tesisleri İstatistikleri), 2021). At or above 95: grade 4/4.
• Rent growth: -11 % change in rents over the last 12 months (Bahçeşehir University Center for Economic and Social Research (BETAM) / sahibinden.com, sahibindex Rental Housing Market Outlook, July 2025 – July 2026). At or below 3: grade 4/4.
• Access redundancy: 4 independent ways in: international airport, intercity rail, port, motorway (İzmir Büyükşehir Belediyesi & TAV Airports, 2026). At or above 4: grade 4/4.
• Tourism crisis and recovery plan: Crisis communication only, ad hoc (İzmir Metropolitan Municipality Strategic Plan & World Bank / GFDRR Resilient İzmir, 2024–2026). Grade 1/4.

Country context (World Economic Forum)

• Turkey: #36 of 110 in the WEF Travel & Tourism Development Index 2026
• Turkey: #36 of 110 in the WEF Travel & Tourism Development Index 2026

Ankara in full · İzmir in full

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