Antalya welcomes more than 13 million tourists

ANTALYA

The number of tourists arriving by air in the southern holiday destination of Antalya has exceeded 13 million since the start of the year, says Ersin Yazıcı, the city governor.

The latest official data showed that the city on the Mediterranean coast welcomed 12.7 million foreign tourists in the January-October period, marking a robust 48 percent from a year ago and signaling that the tourism activity in Antalya is returning fast to the pre-pandemic level.

People from the tourism industry expect foreign tourist arrivals in the city, which is particularly popular with Russian and German holidaymakers, to reach 14 million by the end of the year.

In 2019, Antalya saw 15.5 million foreign tourists, the largest-ever figure on record.

Türkiye has been one of the countries engaged in the most intensive and effective efforts to promote itself as a holiday destination thanks to the establishment of the Tourism Promotion and Development Agency (TGA), Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy said while speaking at the parliament’s budget and planning committee.

“Those efforts continued in 2022. Special promotion campaigns are reaching out to 200 countries through magazines, TV ads, social media and by hosting journalists, tour operators and influencers,” the minister added.

As a result of those activities, 40 million visitors arrived in Türkiye in the January-September period, and the country’s tourism revenues surpassed $35 billion, he noted.

The minister recalled that according to the revised targets, Türkiye will host more than 50 million tourists and generate a record $44 billion in tourism revenues this year.

“Thanks to the measures taken and the right policies implemented, the V-shape recovery in the tourism sector continued.”

More than 12,000 facilities and vehicles were inspected by international audit companies, commissioned by the TGA and received the ‘Safe Tourism Certificate’ as of June, he said.

“Türkiye will set an example to the world with the ‘Sustainable Tourism Program,’ which will be launched soon,” Ersoy said.

The number of facilities with the environment-friendly certificate and nearly 290,000 beds has reached 446, according to the minister. Under the “Sustainable Tourism Program,” which covers 2023-2030, all accommodation facilities will gradually become environment-friendly, he said.