The number of tourists visiting Istanbul, Turkey, in the first half of this year doubled compared to last year, contributing greatly to the recovery of the Turkish economy, Euro News reported. According to a report by the World Travel & Tourism Council, Turkey was one of the four most popular destinations in Europe last summer.
Most tourists come to this country in the form of health tourism. Accordingly, Istanbul is famous for hair transplant services for bald people. Every year, this city attracts more than 250,000 foreign tourists to make changes to their appearance, according to Euro News.
Istanbul has long been a destination for international tourists because of its rich culture, art and history. Here, health tourism, shopping and sightseeing are especially attractive to tourists. In 2020, the Turkish capital witnessed a serious crisis in the tourism industry. After 2 years, the number of visitors to the city has strongly recovered, with the indicators almost higher than before the pandemic.
International arrivals to Istanbul increased by nearly 115% in June to around 1.47 million, according to data from the Istanbul Culture and Tourism Directorate. Tourists visiting Türkiye in general and Istanbul in particular mainly came from Europe and America.
Data showed that German tourists topped the list in June with 126,507 arrivals, followed by 117,169 from Russia, 99,115 from Iran, 96,604 from the US and 59,901 from the UK. In a report on the Turkish tourism situation, the country's tourism industry earned $8.7 billion in revenue in the three months of April-June.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the country aims to generate $37 billion in tourism revenue and attract 47 million visitors this year. Officials hope the tourism industry will equal or surpass pre-pandemic levels in 2022. In 2019, Turkey attracted about 52 million visitors, generating $34 billion in revenue.
