Türkiye welcomes 2.5M foreign tourists in November

By Tuba Ongun

ANKARA (AA) – Türkiye attracted 2.5 million foreign tourists in November, falling 1% at an annualized pace, according to data from the Culture and Tourism Ministry on Friday.

The figure exceeded its pre-pandemic period level of 2.2 million in November 2019, the ministry data showed.

Istanbul was the top tourist spot in November, attracting 1.3 million foreign visitors in November.

The famed resort city of Antalya on the Turkish Riviera was the second top draw for foreign visitors with 348,411 last month.

The northwestern province of Edirne, which borders both Bulgaria and Greece, followed them with 318,635.

At 245,493, Russians made up 9.72% of all foreign visitors in November, followed by Germans at 244,005, Bulgarians at 222,884, Iranians at 203,618, and Georgians at 125,236

- Türkiye records 46.7 million foreign arrivals so far this year

In January-November, foreign tourist arrivals in Türkiye surged 10.82% from a year ago to 46.7 million and surpassed its pre-virus level of 42.9 million.

Russia made up the largest chunk of foreign visitors in the first 11 months of the year with 6.1 million arrivals, up from 4.9 million last year.

They were followed by Germans with nearly 6 million visitors, Britons with 3.7 million, and Bulgarians with 2.6 million so far this year.

Istanbul saw 34.4% of all foreign visitors, or 16 million in the 11-month period. Antalya took second place with 31% or 14.5 million tourists. Edirne followed with a 9.3% share or 4.4 million visitors.