Türkiye welcomes 39.6M foreign visitors in Jan.-Oct.

By Tuba Sahin

ANKARA (AA) – A total of 39.6 million tourists came to Türkiye in January-October, surging 88% year-on-year, according to official data released on Monday.

The 10-month figure stood at 21.1 million in 2021, 11.2 million in 2020, and 40.7 million in 2019, the Culture and Tourism Ministry said.

Istanbul, Türkiye’s most famous province and the largest one by population, was the top draw for foreign visitors, welcoming 13.4 million tourists from January to October this year.

It was followed by the Mediterranean resort city of Antalya with 12.2 million visitors, while Edirne, a northwestern province bordering Bulgaria and Greece, welcomed nearly 4 million tourists in the first 10 months of 2022.

Germans made up 13.3% of all visitors with 5.3 million, followed by Russians with 4.6 million, Britons 3.2 million, Bulgarians 2.3 million, and by Iranians with 2 million.

If Turkish citizens living abroad are added to the count, then the 10-month figure reaches 45 million.

In October alone, foreign arrivals in Türkiye doubled from a year ago to 4.8 million, surpassing the pre-pandemic level of 4.3 million.

Russia was the country with the most visitors to Türkiye, with 467,814, followed by Germany (746,192), the UK (388,017), Bulgaria (326,429), and Iran (185,945).