Foreign tourist arrivals to Türkiye surge 14% in May

By Tuba Ongun

Türkiye welcomed 5.1 million foreign visitors in May, jumping 14% annually, according to official data released on Tuesday.

The famed resort city of Antalya on the Turkish Riviera was the top draw for foreign visitors with 35%, attracting 1.8 million last month.

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

The coastal Aegean province of Mugla, and the northwestern province of Edirne, which borders both Bulgaria and Greece, followed them with 444,271 and 392,550 foreign visitors, respectively.

Russians made up the largest group of foreign visitors in May, with 739,017, accounting for 14.4% of all overseas visitors entering Türkiye, followed by Germans with 729,505 and Britons with 550,592.

- The year so far

In January-May, foreign arrivals in Türkiye soared 12.8% at an annualized pace to 15.8 million.

Germans made up the largest chunk of foreign visitors in the five-month period with 1.9 million arrivals, a 17% year-on-year jump.

They were followed by Russians with 1.8 million and Britons with 1.2 million from January to May.

Istanbul attracted 43.9% of all foreign visitors, or 6.9 million in the first five months of this year. Antalya was second with 23.1% or 3.7 million tourists.