Foreign arrivals to Turkey down by a third in 2016

PanARMENIAN.Net - The number of foreign visitors to Turkey dropped 31.9 percent to 20.2 million in the first nine months of the year compared to the same period in 2015, Hurriyet Daily News reports citing data from the Tourism Ministry.

The number of foreign arrivals dropped in September by 32.84 percent to 2.86 million people, data showed.

September marked the 14th straight monthly fall in the number of foreign tourists visiting Turkey due to several terrorist attacks, a failed coup attempt, and tensions with Russia. It was also the fifth consecutive month when the number of tourists dropped more than 30 percent.

German tourists accounted for the biggest share - 14.8 percent - in September, though this number still fell 36.1 percent compared to the same month of 2015.

The UK took the second spot with a 9.2 percent share, though the number of British visitors fell by 35.5 percent in September. Tourists from Georgia took the third largest share in September with 7.8 percent, up by 6.3 percent to 222,694 compared to the same period of 2015.

Visitors from Russia declined by 60 percent in September, while taking a 7.3 percent of share compared to a 12.4 percent share a year earlier.

Ankara’s relations with Moscow began to improve in June, after months of tension following Turkey’s downing of a Russian fighter jet on the Syrian border in November 2015.