Turkish tourism surges 186% in H1 with 16M+ foreign arrivals

Türkiye attracted some 16.4 million foreign visitors in the first half of this year, an annual surge of 185.7%, official data said on Friday.

Germans made up the largest chunk of foreign visitors in January-June with over 2 million arrivals, nearly fourfold compared to a year ago, according to the Culture and Tourism Ministry.

They were followed by Russians with 1.5 million visitors, Britons with 1.3 million, and Bulgarians with 1.2 million in the first six months of 2022.

Istanbul, Türkiye's largest city by population and a top tourist draw, welcomed 41.3% of all foreign visitors, or 6.8 million in the first half.

The famed Turkish resort city of Antalya took second place with 24.7% or more than 4 million tourists. Edirne in northwestern Türkiye, bordering both Bulgaria and Greece, followed with a 10.7% share or 1.8 million visitors.

Ministry data showed that the country welcomed 19.5 million visitors, including Turkish citizens living abroad, this January-June.