More and more tourists from European countries are choosing to travel to Turkish Antalya, which has already received about 5 million foreign guests this year.

In terms of the number of tourists, Germany has already surpassed Russia, which in recent years has been the leader in terms of tourist flow to the Turkish resort.

During the first half of last year, 145,444 tourists from Germany preferred Antalya. During the same period of the current year, 954,998 people came from Germany to Antalya. Russia was in second place in terms of tourist flow - 785 thousand tourists.

Next came the UK (435 thousand), Poland (238 thousand), and the Netherlands (161 thousand tourists).

In a conversation with an AA correspondent, the governor of Antalya, Ersin Yazici, also noted an increase in the flow of tourists from Europe.

“This year, German tourists are in first place, and Russians are in second. They are followed by British tourists. This season there is a serious increase in tourists from the European market. We are happy and satisfied with this. We want to welcome guests from all countries,” Yazici said.

The head of administration also pointed to a significant increase in the number of people coming to Antalya from Poland and the Nordic countries.

According to him, the growth in the number of European tourists has a positive effect on the development of the local tourism sector.

Yazici added that the Antalya authorities expect further growth in the number of tourists from Europe.

An increase in the number of EU tourists who prefer Antalya is also predicted by the Turkish Association of Professional Hotel Managers (POYD).

According to the head of the organization, Ulkay Atmaji, this year the volume of tourist flow may exceed the figures for 2019.

A similar opinion was expressed by Ali Kyzyldag, general manager of the hotel in the tourist center of Belek. He noted the very rapid recovery of the European segment of the Antalya tourism market in the post-pandemic period.

“We believe we will surpass 2019 in terms of the number of European tourists,” he said.

Antalya is considered one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world.

Through the Safe Tourism certification program, it has established itself as a safe holiday destination.

On the first day of the Kurban holiday, Antalya Airport served a record number of flights after the pandemic - 1034.

121 domestic flights and 913 international flights were served.