Tourism numbers jump nearly 15 pct so far this year

Even amid the continuing impact of the world economic crisis, 14.6 more tourists visited Turkey in the first five months of 2011 compared to last year, according to new Tourism and Culture Ministry data. Some 9.25 million tourists visited Turkey in January-May, including 3.28 million in May alone, a 4.28 percent rise year-on-year. Istanbul got the largest number of tourists in the first five months with 2.78 million, followed by Antalya and Edirne, with 2.70 million and 870,000 respectively. Germany sent the highest number of tourists to Turkey in January-May with 1.39 million, followed by Russia with 876,000 and Iran with 747,000. But Russia sent the most tourists in May, with 525,300. Tourism figures have been climbing in recent years in Turkey, helped by policy changes and infrastructure investments, along with Turkey's rising popularity as a tourist destination in its region. Turkey currently ranks seventh globally in terms of incoming tourists and eighth in terms of tourism revenues. According to the Turkish Statistics Institute (TurkStat), last year Turkey's tourism revenues exceeded $25 billion. This recent growth in Turkey's numbers has mainly been attributed to the Arab Spring in the Middle East and North Africa, resulting in many tourists avoiding those areas.