Tourism up 128% in Turkey with travelers from Germany, Russia
Turkey's foreign visitors are up despite concern that the Russian invasion of Ukraine would hurt its tourism industry this year.
International tourist arrivals to Turkey have increased significantly this year.
More than 23 million foreigners visited Turkey from January through July of 2022, already a 128% increase from the more than 10 million in the entirety of 2021, the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism said in a data release Monday.
Germany has had the highest number of visitors this year with 2.9 million, followed by Russia with 2.1 million. Iran also cracked the top five with 1.2 million people, according to the ministry.
Why it matters: Turkey’s tourism industry was concerned earlier this year that travel from Russia and Ukraine would plummet due to Russia’s invasion. Turkey sought to bridge the gap by enticing tourists from the Middle East, particularly Egypt.
