Ministry: Turkey sees 78 percent drop in international tourist arrivals

Turkey hosted 5.4 million international visitors as of the end of July, down from 24.7 million in the same period last year, the Ministry of Tourism and Culture announced today (August 24).

The figures decreased by 78 percent due to measures to stem the spread of the COVID19 pandemic.

In July, the country welcomed 932,927 foreign visitors, down from 6.6 million in July 2019, but up from 214,768 in the previous month.

In the period between January and July, İstanbul continued to be Turkey's top tourist destination, attracting around 2.7 million, or 50.07 percent of foreign visitors.

Edirne, in northwestern Turkey, which borders both Bulgaria and Greece, saw the second-highest number of foreigners, with 817,292.

The Mediterranean resort city of Antalya followed with 9.8 percent or over 648,768 foreign visitors.

Most tourists came from Germany

Citizens of Germany accounted for over 11.39 percent, followed by citizens of Bulgaria with 8.33 percent, Georgia with 6.39 percent, Russia with 6.12 percent, and Ukraine with 4.87 percent.

After appearing in China last December, the novel coronavirus has spread all around the world, leading countries to close borders or restrict entrances.

After February, Turkey postponed the tourism season to June and canceled several events such as fairs and expos.

With a reopening process starting in June, tourist facilities in Turkey reopened with rigorous measures to ensure safety and avoid the virus.

Last year, more than 45 million foreigners entered Turkey, up from nearly 39.5 million in 2018.

Coronavirus reopening in Turkey

Turkey's easing of coronavirus measures started as early as on May 11, when the government reopened shopping malls, albeit with new physical distancing and hygiene rules. This was followed by more steps on June 1, including the reopening of cafes, restarurants and similar places, as well as parks, beaches and recration areas.

On the same day, entry and exit restrictions for 15 larger provinces, including İstanbul and Ankara, were lifted and domestic flights resumed.

On June 5, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan abruptly lifted the weekend curfew for the 15 provinces, which was declared by the Interior Ministry about 12 hours before. The weekend curfews had been in place since April 11.

The President further announced on June 9 that people over the age of 65 would be allowed to go out between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. A curfew was declared for the elderly on March 22. Those younger than 18 were also allowed to go out on the condition of being with their parents.

The government also resumed international flights on June 11 and announced that all tourism facilities, theaters and concert halls would reopen on July 1.

(VK)