Foreign tourist arrivals to Turkey drop 21 percent in November

ANKARA

DHA photo

The number of foreign arrivals to Turkey dropped by 21.3 percent to 1.35 million in November, compared to the same month in 2015, temporary data from the Tourism Ministry showed on Dec. 29. 

This was the smallest shrinkage in foreign arrivals in the last eight months, as Turkey’s tourism industry struggles amid political and security concerns. However, the plunge in arrivals from Europe continued in November, according to temporary data. 

The number of foreign people visiting Turkey declined to 24.05 million in the first 11 months of 2016, a 30.8 percent drop compared to the same period of 2015, after a series of bomb attacks, a diplomatic crisis with Russia, and the failed July 15 military coup attempt. 

The number of Russian tourists visiting Turkey saw a 77.3 percent decline in the first 11 months of the year, plummeting to 822,159. However, a visible increase has been seen in arrivals since normalization started in bilateral ties between the two countries. 

Georgia became the top largest tourist sender for Turkey, with more than 173,968 tourists visiting the country in November. Germany followed Georgia, with more than 131,217 Germans visiting the country in November, with an average 49 percent fall in arrivals from this country. 

In the first 11 months of the year, Germany, Georgia and the United Kingdom were the top sources of foreign arrivals to Turkey, according to data.