Antalya hosts over 9 million tourists in 2021

Antalya, one of Turkey’s major holiday hotspots on the Mediterranean coast, hosted a little more than 9 million foreign tourists in 2021.

In 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted global tourism and travel, only 3.5 million holidaymakers visited the province.

But, thanks to the Safe Tourism Certificate program and intensive vaccinations at accommodation facilities, Antalya managed to increase the number of international tourists by a staggering 164 percent in 2021 compared with the previous year, said a statement issued by the Antalya Governor’s Office.

Data from the provincial directorate of culture and tourism showed that in December 2021 alone, nearly 62,000 holidaymakers arrived in Antalya, which marked a 213 percent increase from the same month of 2020 and the third highest figure on record for the month.

From January to December, Russians topped the list of foreign visitors at 3.4 million, which accounted for 41 percent of all international tourist arrivals in the city. Last year, 1.3 million Ukrainians and another 1.3 million German nationals visited Antalya.

Polish tourists ranked fourth in the list at 417,000 people, followed by Kazakhs, Romanians, Belarussians, and Dutch people.

Almost all foreign tourists entered the city via the Antalya - 8.98 million - and Gazipaşa – 108,000 – airports, while only 3,500 visitors arrived through cruise liners.