Turkey welcomed 24.7 million foreign visitors in the first seven months of this year, according to Culture and Tourism Ministry data.

The number of foreigners visiting the country jumped 14.1% in January-July period year-on-year, the data released Thursday showed.

Meanwhile, in July alone the number of foreign visitors climbed 16.7% year-on-year to reach 6.6 million people.

The historic metropolis of Istanbul remained Turkey's top tourist draw, attracting more than a third of all visitors — around 8.4 million.

The Mediterranean resort city of Antalya followed with more than 7.85 million foreign visitors in the same period.

Edirne, in northwestern Turkey, which borders both Bulgaria and Greece, received the third-highest number of foreigners, with 2.5 million during the first seven months of the year.

Russians accounted for 15.2% or more than 3.75 million of all visitors, followed by Germans with 10.8% (2.7 million visitors) and Bulgarians with 5.85% (1.44 million).

Most foreigners came to Turkey by air — over 19 million — while roadways were chosen by 4.9 million foreigners, seaways by over 660,000, and trains by 11,700.

The Hotel Association of Turkey (TÜROB) said the hotel occupancy rate was 65.6% during the first seven months of 2019, up 1.2% versus the same period last year.

Occupancy in Istanbul was 82.8% and 64.1% in Antalya during the same period, according to TÜROB data.

The average daily rate for rooms and revenue per room rose 9.1% and 10.4% to reach 75.1 euros ($84.8) and 49.2 euros ($55.6) in January-July.