Istanbul received 7 million 903 thousand 538 tourists in the first 6 months
The number of foreign tourists visiting Istanbul in the first 6 months of the year increased by 17 per cent compared to the same period of the previous year and reached 7 million 903 thousand 538. Russians ranked first among the visitors with 171 thousand 936 people.
According to the data of Istanbul Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism, 6 million 755 thousand 300 foreign tourists came to Istanbul in the first 6 months of 2022. The number of tourists increased by 17 per cent in the same period of this year and was calculated as 7 million 903 thousand 538. The number of foreign tourists increased by 1 million 148 thousand 238 compared to the same period last year.
The city, which hosted 1 million 627 thousand 57 foreign tourists in June, was visited by 1 million 470 thousand 586 foreign tourists in the same month of last year. Thus, the number of foreign tourists arriving in June increased by about 11 per cent compared to last year.
In June, 1 million 584 thousand 232 of the tourists travelled by air and 42 thousand 825 by sea. In this month, it was determined that those arriving to the city by air increased by 9 per cent compared to last year, while those who preferred the sea route increased by 84 per cent.
1473 people entered Istanbul from Atatürk Airport, 444 thousand 270 people from Sabiha Gökçen Airport and 1 million 138 thousand 489 people from Istanbul Airport.
1776 foreign visitors came to the city from Tuzla Port, 37 thousand 739 from Karaköy Port, 1096 from Sarayburnu Port, 1539 from Zeytinburnu Port, 308 from Ambarlı Port, 299 from Haydarpaşa Port, 35 from Pendik Port and 33 from Marmara Port.
Of those arriving in the city, 69.97 percent preferred Istanbul Airport and 27.31 percent preferred Sabiha Gökçen International Airport.
RUSSIANS RANKED FIRST IN THE NUMBER OF TOURISTS
Among foreign visitors who preferred Istanbul, Russians ranked first with 171 thousand 936 visitors.
Russia was followed by Germany with 115 thousand 987 tourists, USA with 102 thousand 801, Iran with 84 thousand 801, Saudi Arabia with 84 thousand 196, England with 75 thousand 91, Italy with 50 thousand 149, France with 44 thousand 560, Iraq with 42 thousand 315, Israel with 39 thousand 522, Uzbekistan with 38 thousand 358, Kuwait with 38 thousand 258, Kazakhstan with 35 thousand 301, Jordan with 29 thousand 305 and India with 23 thousand 912.
In June, 10.57 per cent of the visitors to Istanbul were Russians, 7.13 per cent Germans, 6.32 per cent Americans and 5.21 per cent Iranians.
They were followed by Saudi Arabians with 5.17 per cent, British (United Kingdom) with 4.62 per cent and Italians with 3.08 per cent.
In June, tourists from 194 countries visited the city, one each from Tuvalu and the Vatican, and 2 people from Papua New Guinea visited the city.
THE NUMBER OF TOURISTS IN THE YEARS BEFORE THE EPIDEMIC WAS EXCEEDED
On the other hand, 6 million 777 thousand 208 foreign tourists came to Istanbul in the first 6 months of 2019, 2 million 421 thousand 818 in 2020 and 2 million 720 thousand 283 in 2021.
The number of tourists in the first 6 months of this year increased by 17 percent compared to the same period of 2019 before the Covid-19 outbreak, 226 percent compared to 2020 during the epidemic period, and 191 percent compared to 2021.
