TEHRAN – The number of Iranian nationals visiting Turkey reached 2.9 million from January to November, which marks a 5 percent increase compared with the same period in 2022.

The neighboring country has long been a popular destination for Iranian travelers. According to available data, the Islamic Republic became Turkey’s fourth tourism source last month.

During January-November, Turkey witnessed a notable surge in foreign tourist arrivals, marking a substantial 10.8 percent increase compared to the previous year, totaling 46.7 million visitors. When considering Turkish nationals residing abroad, the overall count of visitors escalated to 52.7 million for the initial 11 months of the year.

In the specific timeframe of November, the country welcomed 2.5 million foreign tourists, signifying a slight 1 percent decrease compared to the same month in 2022, as indicated by data released by the Tourism Ministry on December 22nd.

Russian tourists notably constituted the largest segment of foreign holidaymakers. Approximately 6.08 million Russians visited Turkey between January and October, representing 13 percent of the total foreign tourist arrivals—a significant rise from the 4.95 million Russians in the equivalent period of 2022.

Following Russians, Germans ranked second, with 5.96 million German tourists arriving in Turkey—an increase of 9 percent in comparison to the same January-November period the previous year.

The data further revealed an increase in British tourists visiting Turkey, reaching 3.7 million in the initial 11 months, up from 3.3 million a year prior.

Despite the ongoing conflict, the number of Ukrainian tourists witnessed a substantial 26.3 percent rise, amounting to nearly 795,000. However, this figure remained lower than the more than 2 million Ukrainian visitors during the same period in 2021.

Istanbul continued to reign as the top destination for foreign holidaymakers, drawing over 16 million tourists in the first 11 months of 2023. Meanwhile, Antalya, situated along the Mediterranean coast, attracted 14.5 million visitors, accounting for 31 percent of all foreign tourist arrivals.

Data released by the Turkish Statistical Institute on Oct. 31, suggests that the transcontinental country fetched $20.2 billion of tourism revenues in the third quarter, which jumped 13 percent compared to that of a year earlier.

Turkey has set a goal to host 60 million tourists and generate $56 billion in tourism revenues during the current year.

AFM