With its beautiful sandy beaches, healing thermal springs and rich cultural assets, Izmir is a unique destination for tourists, which have been flocking to the western province. With 300,000 visitors this past July, Izmir has reached a historical peak in numbers of visitors.
According to figures released by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, a total 102 cruise ships brought in 241,000 tourists to the city's Alsancak Port. As for the numbers of visitors that arrived through the city's borders: in January there were 46,959, in February 47,979, in March 81,635, in April 136,787, in May 200,404 and in June 224,921.
Izmir hosted the highest number of tourists in the history of the province at 304,766 bringing the total number of visitors in the first seven months of the year up to 1,043,451.
HIGHEST NUMBER OF TOURISTS COME FROM EUROPE
In 2013 up until July, Izmir has hosted 178,990 Germans, 73,289 Italians, 69,717 French and 59,352 British nationals. From Holland, there have been 48,791 visitors and from Belgium 39,545 visitors, with four each from Yemen and Syria. The number of visitors from Iran went from 26 in January all the way up to 5,326 in July.
Noting that the most striking increase in visitors from a specific country was seen in Iranian tourists, Izmir Culture and Tourism Director Abdülaziz Ediz says that large groups of tourists have begun to arrive from Iran. "We are extremely pleased with this," said Ediz, adding, "Once the tension in the region subsides we believe there will be a rise in tourists from Iran, Iraq and the Arab region.