The number of foreign visitors to Turkey increased in April to reach 2.07 million people, according to data from the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
Turkish tourism experienced an 18.1 percent increase when compared to the 1.75 million people who visited the country in the same period last year. April has seen the first increase after twenty consecutive monthly declines.
Visitors from Russia proved to be the most significant increase, with the number of Russian tourists surging to 485.7 percent to reach 181,865 people. Meanwhile, considerably more Iraqi citizens vacationed in Turkey. A total of 51,254 Iraqis visited Turkey in April, which is a 302.2 percent increase from the previous year.
In the first four months of 2017, the number of foreigners arriving in Turkey reached 5.87 million people. Due to a sharp increase in April, tourist numbers increased by 0.96 percent when compared to the same period last year.
Tourism numbers have been a matter of concern recently as Turkey stands at the crossroads of regional conflicts including the violence in Iraq and Syria, all while the country fights against terror groups such as Daesh and the PKK.
Revenues from tourism have a vital role in the Turkish economy as the country runs a significant amount of current account deficit, which it needs to fund with foreign capital inflow.
