Turkey attracts over 31M foreign visitors in 8 months

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) - Turkey welcomed more than 31 million foreign visitors during the first eight months of this year, according to new data released by Culture and Tourism Ministry on Monday.

The number of foreigners visiting the country soared 14.7% in the January-August period on an annual basis, according to the data.

The Mediterranean resort city of Antalya was the top destination for tourists, hosting 33.3% of all visitors -- around 10.3 million.

The historic metropolis of Istanbul followed with 32.2% or over 9.98 million foreign visitors in the same period

Northwestern Edirne province, which borders both Bulgaria and Greece, received the third-highest number of foreigners, with 2.99 million during the first eight months.