Turkish foreign visitor arrivals surge 186% in February

ISTANBUL, March 21 (Reuters) – The number of foreign visitors arriving in Turkey jumped 186.5% from a year earlier to 1.54 million in February, data showed on Monday, as the sector continued to recover from the impact of measures to combat the spread of COVID-19 since 2020.

The arrivals were still down from a level of 1.73 million foreign visitors in February 2020. Turkey began closing borders and restricting activity in March of that year, when its first COVID-19 cases were recorded.

The number of foreign visitors arriving in Turkey soared 94.1% to 24.71 million last year, when COVID-19 measures were eased compared to 2020.

Photo – Tourists pass through the gate of the Sultanahmet Mosque with Hagia Sophia Mosque in the background during the lockdown on a sunny day in Istanbul, Turkey. EPA-EFE/SEDAT SUNA