Istanbul attracted 7.5 mln tourists last year

Istanbul attracted over 7.5 million tourists from both Turkey and abroad in 2009, according to Istanbul Culture and Tourism Directorate figures released yesterday. The historic city drew about 3 million visitors from 200 countries, with Germans making up the single largest foreign group. The majority of tourists came to the city by air, with the number of airplane passengers arriving in Istanbul rising 7.5 percent over 2008.