The increase in the number of foreign tourists arriving in Turkey slows down

The increase in the number of foreign visitors coming to Turkey slowed down a bit in March after the earthquakes centered on Kahramanmaraş and became 2.34 million with an increase of 12.32 percent.

Thus, while the number of foreign visitors reached 6.2 million with an increase of 26.71 percent in the first quarter of the year, income from tourism, key to the Turkish economy, increased by 32.3 percent and rose to 8.690 million dollars.

In the tourism sector, which is one of the key sectors for the Turkish economy due to the inflow of foreign currency it provides, reserves fell drastically after the Kahramanmaraş earthquakes on February 6, according to information provided by industry representatives, and then they began to recover.

INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF FOREIGN TOURISTS SPEED

According to data released today by the Ministry of Tourism, the number of foreign visitors to Turkey increased by 12.3% in March to 2.34 million. Although it is observed that the increase in the number of foreign visitors has slowed down; The rate of increase was 21.3 percent in February and 56.5 percent in January.

According to official statements, more than 50,000 people lost their lives in the earthquakes that took place in Kahramanmaraş on February 6, while hundreds of thousands of people were left homeless.

Regarding the distribution of foreign visitors by nationality, the Russian Federation ranked first with 265,168 people in March, followed by Iran, Germany, Bulgaria and Georgia, respectively.

In the January-March period, the Russian Federation ranked first with 772,681 people, followed by Bulgaria, Germany, Iran and Georgia.

ANNOUNCED TOURISM REVENUES INCREASE

According to tourism statistics released today by TurkStat, Turkey’s tourism receipts increased by 32.3% in the first quarter of this year compared to the same period last year, reaching $8.69 billion.

Personal expenses made up $7.5 billion of the expenses incurred this quarter, and package travel expenses made up $1.2 billion.

Turkey’s tourism revenue target for this year is at the level of $56 billion. The government aims to combat high inflation and interest rates by creating a current account surplus, especially on tourism and export earnings. (Reuters)