Sunday 17 November 2019

TURKEY: Antalya Hosts 14 Million Visitors For The First Time

As one of the leading tourist destinations in the world, the Mediterranean resort city of Antalya has hosted more than 14 million visitors for the first time in its history.

According to data from the Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism, the number of tourists arriving at Antalya and Gazipaşa airports as of Oct. 15 reached 14.05 million.

It had hosted some 12 million tourists in approximately the same period of last year.

The city had welcomed some 13.6 million tourists throughout 2018, and with some two-and-a-half months left it is moving toward a goal of 16 million tourists.

Russia took the lead in the number of tourists visiting Antalya among 193 countries.

Between Jan. 1 and Oct. 15, the number of tourists from Russia increased by 15% compared to last year, reaching 5.2 million.

Germany came second with an increase of 16% with 2.3 million tourists, followed by Ukraine with 776,000 visitors, the U.K. with 656,000, Poland with 516,000, and the Netherlands with 397,000 tourists.

Professional Hotel Managers Association (POYD) President Ulkay Atmaca said that they had a good September and October compared to previous years. Pointing to the 20% growth achieved in the first half of October, Atmaca stressed the importance of this figure.

He pointed out that the season was also longer this year compared to the previous years. From May to September, it was considered the high season. Mobility started in April this year, and it still continues in October, which shows that the season is prolonged. It is good for the tourism sector, Atmaca said.

We have broken a record in October. We had set the 16 million target for the end of the year, and Antalya will probably reach this target and set a new record. We set a new record every month. So 2019 has been the year of records for us, he added.

Having hosted 2.3 million German tourists last year, Antalya welcomed over 2.5 million visitors from Germany between January and October.

On a monthly basis in October last year, 368,941 German tourists visited Antalya, while in the same month this year, the city attracted 423,206 visitors from the said country.

The growth in the German market, which is essential for Turkish tourism, has pleased the tourism sector.

Antalya, which hosts millions of tourists every year as one of the leading tourism centers of the world, stands out with its luxurious hotels, sea, sand and sun, as well as its historical and cultural texture.

According to data from the Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism regarding Antalya Airport, 14.1 million foreign tourists came to the city between Jan. 1 and Oct. 31, 2019.

Russians took the lead in the number of tourists coming on a daily and monthly basis, followed by Germans.

Professional Hoteliers' Association (POYD) Chairman Ulkay Atmaca said that the hoteliers in the province are proud of the increase in the German market, recalling that they brought over 2.5 million German guests to Antalya in the first 10 months of this year.

Stressing that this figure will reach 3 million by the end of the year due to the collective effort of the sector and all its stakeholders, Atmaca said they expect to close the season with more than 3 million German visitors.

2016 taught us a lot, one of which was market diversity and publicity. We conducted studies in this direction, he continued, underlining that Turkey set records and experienced significant increases in all markets.

Erkan Yagcı, chairman of the Mediterranean Tourism Hoteliers and Operators Association (AKTOB), stated that 2015 was the best year for the German market with 3.2 million German visitors, pointing to a rapid recovery in the German market after 2016.

The increase in this market has pleased the sector. We think that these figures will continue to increase. We want to reach the 2015 figures in 2020 and beyond, he noted.

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