İznik After Pope Leo XIV’s Visit: What the Numbers Say

Pope Leo XIV came to İznik on 28 November 2025 for the 1700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea. Patriarch Bartholomeos of the Orthodox Patriarchate of Istanbul also attended the ecumenical prayer service held at the Basilica of Aziz Neophytos (Agos).

Visitor numbers

According to İznik Municipality data, the number of foreign tourists visiting the district over the course of 2025 reached 200,000. After the visit, the number of visitors to the basilica and the archaeological sites around it was recorded at approximately 60,000, an increase of up to 100 percent compared with the same period of the previous year. The information is attributed to İznik Deputy Mayor Ahmet Kaya (GM Tourism, Hürriyet Daily News).

Entry into tour packages

Engin Balta, head of the TÜRSAB South Marmara Regional Representation Board, reported that İznik was much discussed at the Berlin International Tourism Exchange (ITB) fair and that agencies abroad were preparing tour packages for İznik. It was stated that a significant number of foreign tourists is planned to be hosted in the district after the May period. The same statement gives, for Bursa as a whole, the number of foreign tourists staying in hotels in the previous year as 365,078, the number of domestic tourists as 1,395,975, total overnight stays as 2,949,385 and the average length of stay as 1.67 nights (Patronlar Dünyası, 25 May 2026).

An average stay of 1.67 nights shows that the region is still visited predominantly on day trips. As accommodation capacity and reasons for visiting diversify, this figure is expected to change.

What changed in İznik after the visit

It is reported that the interest generated by the visit was not confined to faith tourism, and that the lake and the natural areas around it also drew visitors. The district had long been known for its identity as a “slow city”; it was reported that no rooms could be found in hotels during the week of the visit (Milliyet, 29 November 2025).

In a place where crowds have grown, planning accommodation and places to eat and drink in advance is useful. The accommodation guide and the eating and drinking guide on the site were compiled for this. For those assessing property in the region, HANIGA stands as a separate subject.