Seven million foreign tourists flock to Istanbul this year

THE NUMBER of foreign visitors to Istanbul rose 10.8 percent in the first eight months of this year when compared to the same period last year, official data said Tuesday.

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism said so far this year 6.95 million foreign tourists have visited the city, according to official data.

A 37.3 percent surge to 1.24 million foreign tourists was seen in August when compared to the same period last year. Most tourists came to Istanbul from Germany (656,428 people), followed by Iran (526,084 people) and Saudi Arabia (413,273).

Visitors from Arab countries went up 36.7 percent to 1.78 million between January and August 2017 compared to the same period last year. Most tourists came to Istanbul through the Atatürk and Sabiha Gökçen airports, 5.45 million and 1.47 million, respectively.

Total foreign tourists were 9.2 million in 2016, 12.4 million in 2015, 11.8 million in 2014 and 10.4 million in 2013.