CORRECTS - Turkey sees 1.8M foreign tourist arrivals in November

CORRECTS FIGURE IN LEDE

By Tuba Sahin

ANKARA (AA) – With a surge for nine months in a row, foreign tourist arrivals in Turkey hit nearly 1.8 million in November, official data revealed on Friday.

The number of foreigners visiting Turkey jumped 111.5% from November 2020, but was still down 19.5% compared to its pre-pandemic level in the same month of 2019, according to the Culture and Tourism Ministry.

Last month, Istanbul, Turkey's largest city by population, was the top draw for foreign visitors with a 57% share, attracting 997,621 foreigners.

It was followed by the Mediterranean resort city of Antalya and Edirne in northwestern Turkey, which borders both Bulgaria and Greece.

Ministry data showed that the country welcomed 2.6 million visitors, including Turkish citizens living abroad.

Russians made up 11% or 192,809 of all visitors, followed by 159,237 Bulgarians, 152,026 Germans, 136,950 Iranians, and 67,797 Iraqis.

In January-November, the country welcomed 22.8 million foreign visitors, up 89.6% from the same period last year.