Some 100,000 foreign tourists arrive in Antalya each day: Minister

ANTALYA

Around 100,000 foreign tourists are arriving by air in Antalya each day, according to Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, while the number of international holidaymakers visiting the Mediterranean resort reached 5 million.

“We have made a good start to the tourism season. Hopefully more tourists will visit the city in the coming months” he said.

Between Jan. 1 and June 24, more than 5 million foreign tourists arrived in the city by air, pointing to a robust 32 percent increase compared to the same period of last year, according to the data the provincial directorate of culture and tourism.

In the same period of 2002, around 3.9 million foreign tourists arrived in Antalya by air.

The number of foreign tourists arriving in Antalya by air between June 1 and June 24 also increased by 17 percent from a year ago, the official data showed.

On June 24, a record number of 90,853 foreigners arrived in the city.

Within a space of 14 days, between June 10 and June 24, more than 1 million foreign holidaymakers entered Antalya through the city’s airport.

Local tourist influx

Hotels in Antalya will be very busy this week as tens of thousands of domestic tourists are flocking to the city to spend the 9-day Eid al-Adha holiday.

The population of Antalya, which is around 2.7 million, is expected to double during this period, thanks to the influx of both local and international tourists.

Occupancy rate at the city’s hotels, which have a total of 650,000 bed capacity, will be more than 90 percent during the Eid holiday, according to Kaan Kaşif Kavaloğlu, president of the Mediterranean Touristic Hoteliers and Investors Association (AKTOB).

Some 300,000 local tourists will vacation in the city with package tours during the Eid holiday, he said.