The number of tourists coming to Antalya exceeded 5 million as of July 28 this year, a huge jump after the total number of tourists in the whole of last year was 6.181 million. The Governor of Antalya Münir Karaloğlu said that the year-end target is 10 million tourists.
The number of tourists coming to Antalya from Jan. 1 to July 28 this year reached 5.21 million, out of which more than 2 million were Russian tourists.
Antalya, which experienced difficult periods last year due to restrictions imposed by Russia, has entered a period of recovery largely due to returning Russian tourists. After a difficult year in 2016, the number of tourists in Antalya so far this year has almost reached the total number from last year.
According to data from the Antalya Airport Administrative Authority, the total number of tourists arriving to Antalya reached 5.21 million as of Friday, July 28. The number of tourists has increased by 62 percent compared to the previous year.
As of Thursday, July 27, around 4.959 million tourists had arrived in the city and on Friday, July 28, a total of 61,571 passengers arrived via the International Terminal, pushing the total number to over 5 million. In July, the average number of tourists coming to Antalya everyday was 58,000, with 54,000 being the lowest and 68,000 being the highest.
On Friday, when the 5 million barrier was exceeded, the total number of arriving and departing flights to Antalya Airport was 771, while the total number of arriving and departing passengers, including domestic flights, was 141,896 persons.
Russian tourists formed a large part of the 5.21 million tourists arriving in Antalya on July 28. The number of Russian tourists, which was 1,321 million as of the end of June, exceeded 2 million in July. The increase in the number of tourists coming from Ukraine and other Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) also continued in July.
Evaluating Antalya's tourism boom, Karaloğlu said that the figures were good and that they have set a goal of "going over 10 million." Indicating that the losses experienced last year will be retrieved to a large extent this year, Karaoğlu said that the main breakthrough will be in 2018 and 2019.
