The number of foreign tourists arriving in Turkey’s metropolis has more than doubled in the first quarter of the year, data showed Thursday, in a rebound from the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.
Foreign arrivals in Istanbul surged 135% year-over-year from January through March to over 2.9 million, the provincial culture and tourism directorate said. The figure was up from 1.23 million in the same period a year ago.
The industry is worried about the potential impact of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, which is expected to hit the arrivals from Turkey’s top tourist sources.
It comes just as the crucial sector continues to recover from the impact of measures to combat the spread of COVID-19 since 2020.
Russians topped the list among nations in the metropolis with nearly 257,099 tourists arriving from the nation in the first three months, a 36.8% year-over-year increase.
Arrivals from the United Kingdom soared by 700% year-over-year to 106,596, the data showed, up from just 13,309 in the first quarter last year.
Russians were followed by Iranians with 253,000, an increase of 113% year-over-year.
The number of tourists from Germany jumped 164% to 225,000, the data showed, while arrivals from France were up over 187% to 110,000, compared to 38,000 a year ago.
The total foreign arrivals in Istanbul climbed 80% year-over-year to 9 million in 2021, versus just over 5 million in 2020.
