Despite a slight decline in foreign visitors, Antalya, one of Türkiye's top tourism destinations, attracted nearly 12.5 million tourists in the first nine months of the year, according to a report on Sunday.
Russia accounted for the largest share of visitors, about a quarter of all arrivals, while arrivals increased in some new markets such as Hungary, Ukraine and Uzbekistan, according to a report by Demirören News Agency (DHA).
Antalya welcomed 12.48 million international tourists from January through September, down 5.6% from a year earlier, according to the DHA report citing data from Antalya Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism.
In September alone, the number of foreign visitors arriving in the city fell by 3.5% compared to the same month last year to 2.19 million, according to the directorate.
Including domestic travelers, the total number of visitors reached 2.3 million in September and 13.33 million during the first nine months of the year.
While some source markets recorded growth, the number of foreign visitors over the nine months was 752,605 lower than the same period last year.
Russia, Antalya's largest source market, accounted for nearly 3.3 million visitors during the first nine months of the year. This represented an increase of 19,876 visitors, or 0.6%, compared to the same period last year.
Russia's share of total foreign visitors rose from 24.9% to 26.6%. In September, the number of tourists from Russia increased 2.6% from a year earlier to 659,516. Russian visitors accounted for 30% of all foreign visitors to Antalya that month.
The number of visitors from Ukraine also increased 5.8% over the nine-month period, rising from 364,124 to 385,317, making Ukraine Antalya's fifth-largest source market.
The number of Ukrainian visitors rose 12%, from 67,664 in September last year to 75,797 this year.
The number of visitors from Uzbekistan increased by 49% over the first nine months of the year, rising from 41,175 to 61,511 compared with the same period last year. In September alone, arrivals from Uzbekistan rose 52.7%, reaching 9,478.
Visitor numbers from Hungary rose 12.8% over the nine-month period to 137,454.
Together, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Hungary accounted for a net increase of 57,167 visitors compared to the same period last year.
Among the top 10 source countries, the largest numerical declines in visitor numbers were recorded in Germany and the United Kingdom.
The number of visitors from Germany fell 6.2% over the first nine months of the year to about 2.53 million. Arrivals from the U.K. declined 11.9%, to 1.14 million.
In September, visitor numbers also fell 9.7% from Germany and 13.1% from the U.K.
Russia, Germany and the U.K. have traditionally ranked among Antalya's top three source markets.
Among the 10 countries sending the most visitors to Antalya, Romania recorded the largest percentage decline over the nine-month period.
The number of Romanian visitors fell 16.1%, from 395,974 to 332,235.
Although total visitor numbers from Poland and Kazakhstan remained below last year's levels over the first nine months, both markets recorded growth in September.
The number of visitors from Poland fell 5.1% over the nine-month period to 1,051,168. However, September arrivals increased 0.6% year-on-year, reaching 195,567. Poland overtook the U.K. to rank third among Antalya's source markets for September.
Visitor numbers from Kazakhstan declined 2.7% over nine months to 340,795. In September, however, arrivals increased by 13.7% compared to the same month last year, reaching 44,716.
The decline in total foreign visitor numbers stood at 6.1% from January through August. After including September's figures, the decline narrowed to 5.6%.
Antalya welcomed a total of 7.23 million foreign visitors in July, August and September. These three months accounted for approximately 58% of all foreign visitors recorded during the first nine months of the year.
August recorded the highest number of visitors during this period, with 2.52 million arrivals.
