Foreign tourist arrivals to Türkiye up 2% in January

By Tuba Ongun

Türkiye attracted nearly 2.1 million foreign visitors in January, ticking up 2.05% year-on-year, according to official data released on Friday.

Istanbul, Türkiye's largest city by population, posted the greatest number of visitors with 1.2 million last month, the Culture and Tourism Ministry figures showed.

The northwestern province of Edirne, which borders both Bulgaria and Greece, saw 237,714 foreign tourist arrivals in January. The famed resort city of Antalya on the Turkish Riviera followed with 178,306 foreign visitors.

Russia took the first place by its share of 11.3% – some 230,579 Russians – with regards to nationalities of foreign visitors over the same period, followed by Iran (10.4% or 211,801 visitors) and Bulgaria (7.93% or 162,414 visitors).

In 2023, Türkiye welcomed 49.2 million foreign tourists, hiking 10.4% from the previous year.