Tourist arrivals to one of Türkiye’s top destinations, Antalya, increased approximately 10% in the first seven months of the year to surpass the 9 million mark, according to a report on Saturday.
Russians accounted for the largest group of tourists between Jan. 1 and July 31, with just over 2 million, according to an Anadolu Agency (AA) report. They were followed by arrivals from Germany at 1.77 million and England with around 875,000.
The latest data comes days after data from the Culture and Tourism Industry showed foreign arrivals remained robust in the first half of the year, and also resulting in record revenues for the country.
Antalya became increasingly popular among Russians following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in early 2022 and subsequent Western restrictions on air travel and businesses in Russia.
Being one of the most visited and favored destinations in Türkiye, alongside Istanbul, the city on the Mediterranean coast is recognized for its prolonged summer season and prevalent period of sun-covered days, rich history, numerous Blue Flag beaches and activities such as diving.
The number of tourists visiting Antalya in July alone increased by 2.71% compared to the same month last year, reaching 2.74 million, according to the data.
Similarly, as to data for the seven-month period, Antalya attracted most of the tourists from Russia during July as well, or nearly 600,000. Second on the list of arrivals to the city last month were Germans with some 441,000 and Poles with nearly 224,000.
Tourists from Poland were followed by those from the United Kingdom, Kazakhstan, Romania, the Netherlands, Czechia, Slovakia and Ukraine.
Separately, on Sunday, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu said that an all-time record was broken in both aircraft traffic and passenger numbers at Antalya Airport the day earlier.
In a written statement on the ministry’s website and the post on social media platform X, the minister drew attention to the increasing figures.
Uraloğlu said that a total of 223,217 passengers used Antalya Airport on Aug. 3, with 1,217 aircraft. Of these, he said, 1,087 were on international routes and 130 on domestic ones.
Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy echoed Uraloğlu and also said that the record was broken in the number of daily international passengers at the same time.
“A visitor record was broken at Antalya Airport,” he wrote on X on Sunday.
“We broke the daily international passenger record of all time, with the number of tourists arriving in Antalya, the perfect meeting point of history, nature and culture, exceeding 104,000 yesterday,” he said.
“We hosted approximately 280,000 tourists in the first three days of August in Antalya, which is a favorite among tourists not only with its magnificent beaches but also with its rich history, fascinating natural beauties and unique cultural heritage,” he added, thanking everyone who contributed in this regard.
