The upward trend in Turkey's tourism sector continued in April as the number of foreign tourist arrival increased by 24%, according to Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy.

In a written statement on Thursday, Ersoy said the highest number of visitors in April came from Germany with 48%.

"Turkey maintains the momentum it achieved compared to the same month last year with the increase in the number of visitors from Russia, the U.K. and Germany, from where the highest number of tourists arrived in April. It was followed by Russia with a 34% increase and the U.K. with a 31% increase," the minister noted.

Turkey welcomed 5.44 million foreign visitors between January and March, a 6.12% year-on-year increase.

In the first quarter of the year, Bulgaria topped the list of visitors by country with 482,712 foreigners, accounting for 8.87% of all foreign visitors entering Turkey, followed by Iran, from which Turkey received 447,103 visitors. Germany came in third with 427,424 visitors and was followed by Georgia with 371,111. Russians ranked fifth with 318,714 visitors in the first quarter of the year. On the other hand, Turkey's tourism income totaled $4.63 billion in the first quarter of this year, a 4.6 percent rise year-on-year, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat).

Turkey enjoyed a buoyant season last year and saw a double-digit increase in both the number of foreign tourists and tourism income. The country welcomed 39.5 million foreign visitors last year, a 21.84% increase year-on-year, while its tourism income surged 12.3% to $29.5 billion, according to official figures.