Foreign arrivals to Turkey fall 32 percent in first nine months of 2016

ANKARA

AA Photo

The number of foreign visitors to Turkey dropped 31.9 percent to 20.2 million in the first nine months of the year compared to the same period in 2015, data from the Tourism Ministry showed on Oct. 27. 

The number of foreign arrivals to Turkey dropped in September by 32.84 percent to 2.86 million people, data showed.  

September marked the 14th straight monthly fall in the number of foreign tourists visiting Turkey due to several terrorist attacks, a failed coup attempt, and bilateral tensions with Russia. It was also the fifth consecutive month when the number of tourists dropped more than 30 percent. 

German tourists accounted for the biggest share in September, with 14.8 percent Germans visiting Turkey, through this number still fell 36.1 percent compared to the same month of 2015. 

The U.K. took second place with its 9.2 percent share, though its visitors fell by 35.5 percent in September. Tourists from Georgia took the third largest share in September with 7.8 percent, increasing 6.3 percent to 222,694 compared to the same month of 2015. 

Visitors from Russia declined by 60 percent in September, while taking a 7.3 percent of share in total visitors compared to a 12.4 percent share a year earlier. The share of Russian visitors in total increased from 3.3 percent in August. 

Ankara’s relations with Moscow began to improve in June, after months of tension following Turkey’s downing of a Russian fighter jet on the border with Syria in November 2015.