Foreign arrivals in Turkey exceed 300 pct in May

Turkey has received around 3.82 million foreign arrivals in May, surged by 308 percent year-on-year, the country's Culture and Tourism Ministry said on Monday.

During the first five months of 2022, Turkey hosted a total of 12.7 million foreign arrivals, up by 207 percent comparing with the same period last year, according to official data.

Most foreign arrivals are registered in Istanbul, Antalya, Edirne, Mugla and Artvin.

Meanwhile, Germany ranked first in sending more tourists to Turkey in the first five months of the year, which increased by 367 percent, followed by Bulgaria, 334 percent, and Russia, 49 percent.

Turkey's crucial tourism industry has been recovering since the country eased health measures in 2021, but the number of foreign arrivals still falls behind May 2019 by 4.9 percent, which was before the pandemic.

Turkey's tourism sector is negatively affected by the Ukrainian crisis this year, since Russian and Ukrainian tourists were the main sources of income for the Turkish tourism industry, particularly for resorts along Turkey's Mediterranean coast.