This file photo taken on Nov. 24, 2025 shows the cruise ship Astoria Grande docked in Istanbul, Türkiye. Foreign tourist arrivals in Türkiye reached 2.8 million in November, highlighting the country's sustained tourism growth, as the total number of foreign visitors reached 50.06 million in the first 11 months of the year, according to statistics released by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism on December 22. (Xinhua/Liu Lei)
ISTANBUL, Dec. 22 (Xinhua) -- Foreign tourist arrivals in Türkiye reached 2.8 million in November, highlighting the country's sustained tourism growth, as the total number of foreign visitors reached 50.06 million in the first 11 months of the year, according to statistics released by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism on Monday.
The November figure posted a year-on-year increase of 2.61 percent, while total arrivals from January to November saw a slight 0.03-percent rise, the ministry said.
Istanbul remained Türkiye's top destination for foreign visitors in the first 11 months of the year, attracting about 17.5 million tourists. It was followed by the Mediterranean coastal city of Antalya with roughly 15.7 million visitors, while northwestern Edirne ranked third with around 4.1 million arrivals.
Russia remained Türkiye's top source of foreign visitors in the first 11 months of the year, followed by Germany and Britain, with Iran and Bulgaria also among the major tourist-sending countries.
Speaking at an event in Antalya on Saturday, Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy said tourism revenues reached 50 billion U.S. dollars from January to September, marking the highest nine-month total on record, Türkiye's semi-official Anadolu Agency reported.
Ersoy said Türkiye is on track to exceed its year-end revenue target of 64 billion dollars, attributing the strong performance to a well-planned and coordinated strategy. He added that tourism promotion activities have been carried out in nearly 200 countries, noting that this broad outreach has helped sustain visitor demand and support record tourism performance. ■
This file photo taken on Nov. 24, 2025 shows tourists visiting the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, Türkiye. Foreign tourist arrivals in Türkiye reached 2.8 million in November, highlighting the country's sustained tourism growth, as the total number of foreign visitors reached 50.06 million in the first 11 months of the year, according to statistics released by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism on December 22. (Xinhua/Liu Lei)
