Foreign tourist arrivals leap 226 percent in April

ANKARA 

Some 2.6 million foreign tourists visited Turkey in April, pointing to a strong 226 percent increase from a year ago.

Since the start of the year, foreign tourist arrivals have recorded three-digit increases on an annual basis. In January, foreign tourist visits rose by 151 percent, while in February and March, they grew by 187 percent and 130 percent, respectively.

In April, 395,000 Germans vacationed in Turkey, making up the largest group of international tourists, followed by Bulgarians, 271,000 people or 10.5 percent of total arrivals, data from the Culture and Tourism Ministry showed on May 23.

The number of British tourists grew from only 15,000 from a year ago to 225,000 people, while Iranians claimed the fourth spot at 152,4000, up by a robust 268 percent.

Last month, Turkey also welcomed 130,000 Russian tourists, down 16.6 percent from a year ago. The number of visitors from Ukraine also plunged 44 percent to 44,000 people.

In the first four months of 2022, 7.48 million foreign tourists came to Turkey, marking a 173 percent increase from the same period of 2021, the ministry data showed.

In January-April 2020, 4.3 million international holidaymakers visited the country.

Germans also topped the list of foreign visitors during this period. Some 814,000 German nationals visited Turkey in the first four months, up from 185,000 people a year earlier.

Fewer Russians visited Turkey in January-April compared to the same period of 2021. Data from the ministry showed that the number of Russian tourists fell by 11 percent to 491,999 people. But, 189,000 Ukrainians visited Turkey in the first four months, up 1.2 percent on an annual basis.

Turkey hosted 24.7 million foreign tourists in the whole of 2021.

Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy reiterated earlier this month that Turkey targets to welcome 42 million tourists and generate $35 billion in tourism revenues.