The Increase In Tourist Arrivals In Antalya Exceeds 9 Million In The First Seven Months.

According to an Anadolu Agency report, Russians accounted for the most significant tourists between January 1 and July 31, with just over 2 million.

According to reports on Saturday, the arrivals of tourists to one of Turkey's top destinations, Antalya, increased significantly to 10% in the first seven months of the year to exceed the 9 million mark. They were followed by rivals from Germany, at 1.77 million, and England, with around 875,000.

The latest data comes days after data from the Culture and Tourism Industry showed foreign arrivals remained robust in the first half of the year, resulting in record revenues for the country.

Antalya became increasingly famous among Russians following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in early 2022 year and subsequent Western restrictions on air travel and businesses in Russia. Being one of the most visited and favoured destinations in Turkiye alongside Istanbul, the city on the Mediterranean coast is recognised for its prolonged summer seasons and prevalent period of sun-covered days, rich history, various Blue Flag beaches and activities such as diving. The number of tourists visiting Antalya in July alone increased by 2.71% compared to the same month last year, reaching 2.74 million as per the data. Similar to data for the seven months, Antalya attracted most tourists from Russia during July, or nearly 6,00,000. Second on the list of arrivals to the city last month were Germans, with some 441,000, and Poles, with almost 224,000.

Tourists from Poland were followed by those from the United Kingdom, Kazakhstan, Romania, the Netherlands, Czechia, Slovakia, and Ukraine. Separately on Sunday, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraaloglu said a record was broken in both aircraft traffic and passenger numbers at Antalya Airport the day before. In a written statement on the ministry's website and the post on social media platform X, the minister drew attention to the increasing figures. Uraloglu said 223,217 passengers used Antalya Airport on August 3 with 1217 aircraft. Of these, he said 1087 were on international routes and 130 on domestic ones. Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy echoed Uraloglu and noted that the record of the number of daily international passengers was broken simultaneously. "A visitor record was broken at Antalya Airport," he wrote on X on Sunday. "We broke the daily international passenger record of all time with the number of tourists arriving in Antalya, the perfect meeting point of history, nature, and culture, exceeding 104,00 yesterday," he said.

"We hosted approximately 280,000 tourists in the first three days of August in Antalya, which is a favourite among tourists not only with its magnificent beaches but also with its rich history, fascinating natural beauties and unique cultural heritage," he added, thanking everyone who contributed in this regard.

#turkeynews #turkeyupdate #tourism #destination #globaltourism #destination