UPDATE - Turkey: Tourist number hits highest January figures

UPDATES WITH STATEMENT BY TURKISH HOTEL ASSOCIATION, ADDS MORE DETAILS

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) - The number of foreigners visiting Turkey jumped 16.11% on a yearly basis in January, the country’s Culture and Tourism Ministry said on Monday.

Turkey, which hosted almost 1.8 million foreign visitors last month, saw the highest January tourist number, the ministry data showed.

Istanbul continued to be Turkey’s top tourist draw, attracting nearly 57% of all visitors -- around 1 million.

Edirne, in northwestern Turkey, which borders both Bulgaria and Greece, saw the second-highest number of foreigners, with 222,494 in the month.

The Mediterranean resort city of Antalya followed them with 8.04% or over 143,679 foreign visitors last month.

Bulgarians accounted for over 9% or nearly 162,200 of the visitors, followed by Georgians with some 7.4% (132,674 visitors), and Russians with 7.3% (130,608).

Last year, more than 45 million foreigners -- historical high -- entered the country, up from nearly 39.5 million in 2018.

Meanwhile, the hotel occupancy rate across Turkey reached 61.9% in January, up 6.4% year-on-year, the Turkish Hotel Association (TUROB) said in a statement on Monday.

The sector's revenue per available room (RevPAR) rose to €42 ($45), up 16%, while average daily rate (ADR) for rooms went up 8.9% to €68 last month, on a yearly basis.

In Europe on average, the hotel occupancy rate was 58.5% and RevPAR was €101.1 in January.

Meanwhile, the occupancy rate was 69% in Istanbul and 56.5% in Antalya.

The average Euro/U.S. dollar exchange rate was 1.11 last month.