Foreign visits to Türkiye jump 5.65 percent in August

Türkiye welcomed 6.7 million foreign visitors in August, jumping 5.65 percent annually, the Culture and Tourism Ministry has said.

The famed resort city of Antalya on the Turkish Riviera was the top draw for foreign visitors with 37 percent, attracting 3.5 million foreign visitors last month, the ministry said on Friday.

Istanbul, Türkiye's largest city by population and a top tourist spot, ranked second, attracting 1.7 million foreign visitors in August.

The Aegean province of Mugla, and the northwestern province of Edirne, which borders both Bulgaria and Greece, followed them with 628,654 and 525,270 foreign visitors, respectively.

At 871,270, Germans made up 13.1 percent of all foreign visitors, followed by Russians at 852,640, Britons at 588,448, Iranians at 280,951, and Poles at 279,040.

2023 so far

In January-August, foreign arrivals in Türkiye surged 13.95 percent year-on-year to 33.4 million.

Russia made up the largest chunk of foreign visitors in the first eight months of the year with 4.3 million arrivals, up 49.8 percent from last year.

They were followed by Germans with 4.1 million visitors, Britons with 2.7 million, and Bulgarians with 1.8 million in the eight-month period.

Istanbul saw 44.7 percent of all foreign visitors, or 6.3 million in the five-month period. Antalya took second place with 22.40 percent or 3.1 million tourists. Edirne followed with a 10.5 percent share or 1.5 million visitors.