Istanbul welcomes nearly 7 million foreign tourists

ANKARA

REUTERS photo

The number of foreign tourists visiting Istanbul rose by 10.8 percent in the first eight months of this year, when compared to the same period last year, hitting 6.95 million, Culture and Tourism Ministry data has shown. 

A 37.3 percent surge to 1.24 million foreign tourists was seen in August, when compared to the same period last year.     
  
Some 656,428 Germans, 526,084 Iranians and 413,273 Saudis came to Istanbul, topping the list of foreigners flocking to the country’s largest city. 

Visitors from Arab countries went up by 36.7 percent to 1.78 million between January and August 2017, compared to the same period last year.        

Most tourists came to Istanbul through the Atatürk and Sabiha Gökçen airports, 5.45 million and 1.47 million respectively.

The total number of foreign tourists was 9.2 million in 2016, 12.4 million in 2015, 11.8 million in 2014 and 10.4 million in 2013.