STORY: Foreign tourist arrivals in Türkiye's Antalya tops 10 million
DATELINE: Aug. 26, 2023
LENGTH: 00:01:28
LOCATION: ANTANYA, Türkiye
CATEGORY: SOCIETY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of tourists arriving at Antalya, Türkiye (courtesy of ihlas news agency)

STORYLINE:

More than 10 million foreign tourists have already arrived by air this year in Antalya, a major tourist destination on Türkiye's southern Mediterranean coast, according to data from local culture and tourism authorities on Friday.

The number of foreign visitors between Jan. 1 and Aug. 22 increased by 20 percent from a year earlier, the local culture and tourism authorities said, adding that from Aug. 1 to Aug. 22, around 1.88 million foreign tourists entered the city, marking a 10 percent increase compared with the same period of last year.

In 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic hit the global travel and tourism industry, Antalya welcomed a record 15.6 million foreign tourists.

Antalya is keen on attracting more tourists throughout the whole year by offering new alternatives such as sports tourism and cultural tourism.

Tourism is a major economic driver for Türkiye, contributing about 10 percent of the country's GDP and employing about 1.7 million people.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Antalya, Türkiye.
(XHTV)