Turkey’s tourist arrivals increase in November

ISTANBUL - Reuters

Around 33.47 million people entered Turkey in the first 11 months of the year.

The number of foreign visitors to Turkey rose 4.77 percent year-on-year in November to 1.71 million people, Tourism Ministry data showed Dec. 30.

In the first 11 months of the year, the number of foreign visitors rose 9.95 percent to 33.47 million people. 

Although Turkey is one of the hottest tourism spots and attracts around 35 million foreign tourists a year, its tourism income per tourist is far below the average among all the top hotspots, due in part to the large number of all-inclusive destinations on the country’s south coast that mean visitors pay less per capita than tourists to other countries.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had said Dec. 15 that Turkey would break a new record if it reaches an annual tourism revenue figure of $30 billion in 2013, as the number of tourists has climbed from 13 million to 36 million in 11 years.