STORY: Foreign visitors to Türkiye up 16.2 pct in May
DATELINE: June 26, 2023
LENGTH: 00:01:36
LOCATION: Ankara
CATEGORY: ECONOMY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of visitors in Türkiye

STORYLINE:

Türkiye attracted 4.5 million foreign visitors in May, a 16.2 percent year-on-year growth, the country's Culture and Tourism Ministry said Saturday.

Russia topped the list of visitors by country, with 640,844, followed by Germany with 617,617, and Britain with 452,724.

The Turkish coastal city of Antalya was the top draw for foreign visitors with a 33.6 percent share, attracting 1.51 million foreigners last month.

Türkiye's largest city Istanbul came in a close second, hosting 1.5 million foreign visitors in May.

The Aegean province of Mugla, and the northwestern province of Edirne, which borders both Bulgaria and Greece, followed them with 380,899 and 349,123 foreigners, respectively.

In January-May, foreign tourist arrivals in Türkiye surged 23.7 percent from the prior year to exceed 14 million, the ministry said.

Türkiye says it aims to attract 60 million foreign tourists and generate 56 billion U.S. dollars in revenues this year.

Last year, some 44.6 million foreign tourists came to Türkiye, leaping 80.3 percent from a year earlier.

The country garnered 46.3 billion dollars in tourism revenues last year, up from 38.9 billion dollars in 2019, the pre-virus period, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Ankara.
(XHTV)