ANKARA 

Türkiye attracted some 44.6 million foreign tourists in 2022, a rise of 80.3% from a year earlier, according to official figures released on Tuesday.

The figure nearly reached the pre-virus level of 45 million in 2019, the Culture and Tourism Ministry data showed.

Istanbul, Türkiye’s most famous city and its largest by population, was the top draw for foreign visitors, welcoming more than 16 million tourists.

It was followed by the resort city of Antalya with 12.8 million visitors, while Edirne, a city in northwestern Türkiye bordering Bulgaria and Greece, welcomed 4.6 million tourists.

At 5.7 million, Germans made up 12.7% of all visitors, followed by Russians at 5.2 million, Britons at 3.3 million, Bulgarians at 2.9 million, and Iranians at 2.3 million.

If Turkish citizens living abroad are added to the count, then 2022 figure goes up to 51.4 million, slightly down from 51.9 million in 2019.

In December alone, foreign arrivals in Türkiye were up 26.8% year-on-year to 2.4 million.

Separately, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) revealed that Türkiye generated $46.3 billion tourism income last year. Average expenditure per capita was $901 in 2022.