The number of foreigners arriving in Turkey from the start of the year until April has increased three times compared to the previous year, according to official data from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. This is a vital source of revenue for the economy considering the fact that Turkey is a tourist destination offering numerous activities and attractions to visitors.
 
During the period, foreign arrivals were over 9.53 million, representing an increase of 27.5% per year. The revenue from tourism is crucial for the country as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his government focus on dealing with the high inflation. "Daily Sabah" recalls that last year the number of tourists was a record, respectively the revenue as well, which prompted the government to raise its annual forecasts for the sector.
 
This year's arrivals, reported from January to April, are the result of the growing flow of visitors from Russia, mainly because of travel restrictions imposed on them by Western countries. Over 1.15 million Russians visited Turkey in those four months, marking almost 135% increase compared to 2022. Thousands of them have moved permanently, seeking asylum for housing investment and other assets. Second place in terms of foreign tourists takes Germany with 966,336 people, which represents an increase of 18.74% compared to the previous year. Bulgaria is third with 797,956 arrivals, which represents a jump of 17.45% on annual basis, the data show. Iran and the United Kingdom are ranked 4th and 5th respectively.
 
Istanbul, Turkey's largest city by population and a major tourist destination, welcomed more than half of all foreign visitors to the country, or nearly 4.77 million. It is followed by the Mediterranean resort city of Antalya with 1.6 million foreign tourists and Edirne, which borders Bulgaria and Greece, with 1.1 million foreign visitors. In April alone, the country was visited by 3.3 million foreigners, which is more than 29% on annual basis and exceeds the values before the pandemic. The government's expectations are that the tourist flow in 2023 will reach 60 million people, and by 2028 - 90 million. In terms of revenue, it is expected to bring up to $56 billion this year and $100 billion in five years.