Over 9 million foreign tourists visit Antalya

ANTALYA

More than 9 million foreign tourists have arrived in Antalya by air between Jan. 1 and Aug. 10, bolstering expectations that the popular holiday destination will see more tourists this year than it did in 2019.

According to data from the provincial directorate of culture and tourism, foreign tourist arrivals in Antalya on the Mediterranean coast by air grew 21 percent since the start of the year compared with the same period of 2022.

In 2019, when Türkiye and Antalya welcomed a record number of foreign holidaymakers, the number of foreign tourists visiting the province was a little more than 9 million.

In the first 10 days of August, 872,833 foreign tourists arrived in Antalya by air, pointing to an 11 percent increase from the same period of last year.

Last week, data from the Transport Ministry showed that 10 cruise ships visited Antalya between January and July with a total of 16,640 passengers on board.

Ten cruise liners docked at the port in Antalya in the first seven months of 2022, too, but with only a total of 3,800 travelers on board.

From January to June this year, Turkish ports welcomed 574 cruise ships which brought nearly 692,000 visitors in total.

Separate data released last week by the General Directorate of State Airports Authority (DHMİ) showed that international passenger traffic at Turkish airports grew by 27 percent year-on-year to 66.7 million in the first seven months of 2023.

Some 51.8 million travelers on domestic routes went through the airports in the same period, an 18 percent increase from a year earlier.

Total passenger traffic at Turkish airports increased by 22.9 percent annually to 118.5 million.

This year, Türkiye aims to welcome 60 million tourists and generate $56 million in tourism revenues, which are one of the main sources of hard currency and help the country reduce its current account deficit.