Antalya Draws International Tourists in Large Numbers This year

Antalya, a Turkish resort city with a yacht-filled Old Harbor and beaches flanked by large hotels, has been drawing massive tourists from the Middle East, Europe and Russia this season.

In fact, the Antalya international airport is witnessing a daily arrival of around 100,000 international tourists and their numbers have crossed five million mark this year, reaching a total of 5,071,305.

Antalya is a major seaport and is a gateway to Turkey’s southern Mediterranean region and is famous for the Turquoise Coast for its blue waters. Remnants such as Hadrian’s Gate, built to honour the Roman emperor’s visit in 130 A.D and 2^nd century Hidirlik Tower, with harbour views are among the major attractions in the coastal town.

The influx of tourists to the coastal town is attributed to the Eid Al Adha holidays in the Arab world and in the Europe, particularly Germany and the UK. Even the Russians are flocking to the town as the Western nations have imposed flight restrictions from Russian Federation over its invasion of Ukraine.

In addition, Antalya recently achieved a new daily record on June 17, with the arrival of 86,278 foreign passengers. This record was further surpassed on June 24, as 90,853 foreign guests arrived in Antalya by air.

According to the Antalya Governorship Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism, nearly 4.63 million tourists came to the city by air between January 1 and June 10 this year.

Going by the trend, Antalya is expecting 16 million tourists by end of this year which should gladden the hearts of the local businesses. In May, Turkiye welcomed 4.5 million foreign visitors, marking a 16.2% year-over-year surge.

Russians Top in Arrivals

According to government data, arrivals from Russia rose 76.5% from a year ago to 640,844, followed by Germany with 617,617, an increase of over 24%. The U.K. came third with an increase of over 12% versus May 2022’s 452,724.

Antalya emerged as the top draw, accounting for 33.6% of the May arrivals and welcoming 1.51 million tourists. Istanbul, the country’s largest city and a renowned tourist spot, is closely followed by 1.5 million foreign visitors.

The enchanting Aegean province of Mugla and the northwestern province of Edirne, bordering Bulgaria, and Greece, attracted a substantial number of tourists, with 380,899 and 349,123 visitors, respectively, according to local media reports.

Between January and May this year, the number of arrivals of international tourists increased by 23.7% year-over-year, was more than 14 million.

Turkiye’s Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy said that Antalya was not only known for agriculture but also became the country’s tourism capital. Antalya was far ahead of other cities as far as overnight stays and income from tourism during the last two two years.

With large number of tourists making a beeline to the region, the government has launched several initiatives, such as the development projects in the ancient village of Side and in Kemer. The works on these projects are expected to begin after Eid holidays.