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"Good year".

These two words can describe the situation in the field of tourism in Turkey in 2022. The tourism sector in the country is currently enjoying a real revival after the lifting of restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

According to Turkey's Ministry of Culture and Tourism, more than 16 million foreign tourists visited the country in the first six months of the year, a 186 percent increase compared to the same period last year.

Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy announced that Turkey plans to welcome 42 million tourists this year, with tourism revenue expected to reach a record $35 billion. 

At the height of the summer tourist season in the country, hotel accommodation is practically fully booked, and plane tickets to Turkey are sold out months in advance.

Hundreds of charter flights operate daily to Aegean and Mediterranean resorts. 

The most popular destinations for tourists remain Istanbul and Antalya, as well as Cappadocia, the Aegean counties of Mugla, Izmir, Ayden, as well as the Edirne county bordering Bulgaria and Greece.

And the picture in the most popular tourist destinations in the country is really colorful - along with tourists from Western Europe, from Russia and the countries of the Balkans (including Bulgaria), a huge number of tourists from Africa, the Middle East, Central and East Asia can be seen.

In addition to traditional Turkish hospitality and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism's "safe tourism" guarantees (under the "safe tourism" program launched due to the COVID-19 pandemic), the depreciation of the Turkish lira is also an attractive factor for many tourists.

Foreigners have the opportunity to choose between sea tourism, which can combine vacation, culinary tourism, spa, shopping, extreme tourism or nightlife;

mountain tourism (there are many mountains in Turkey, including 4000-5000 m above sea level), health tourism and cosmetic medical tourism;

religious tourism. 

At the same time, Turkey is also doing everything possible to ensure that Russian citizens will not be prevented from visiting its resorts despite the economic and political consequences of the war in Ukraine.

The strategy seems to be paying off - in the first seven months of this year, 2.197 million Russian citizens visited Turkey, which is an increase of 41.5 percent on an annual basis, a source from the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism said on August 22.

Russian tourists are the second largest group of foreign tourists in the country after visitors from Germany.

Recently, the Russian Association of Tour Operators stated that by the end of 2022, the Russian tourist flow to Turkey could exceed last year's level of 4.7 million visitors.

Currently, even the more affluent tourists from Russia, who previously visited Italy, Spain, France and Greece, 

NATO member Turkey has sought to maintain a neutral stance on the war in Ukraine, refusing to impose sanctions on Moscow, keeping its airspace open to Russian aircraft and even providing safe havens for the superyachts of oligarchs including Roman Abramovich. 

Meanwhile, this week it was reported that Istanbul Airport was ranked in the top 10 busiest airports in the world in August.

According to a report by Official Airline Guides, this month Istanbul Airport climbed from 14th to fifth place in the world's busiest airports ranking.

Apart from visiting the bicontinental metropolis of Istanbul, many travelers travel to the airport by transfer, from where they continue their flights to destinations in various places in Turkey and to other parts of the world. 

The other top destination for foreign tourists in Turkey is the Mediterranean district of Antalya, known among locals as the "Paradise of Pomegranates and Oranges". 

According to data published by the Welsh County Council, between January 1 and August 5, nearly 7.7 million tourists arrived by plane in Antalya.

The number of foreign tourists arriving by plane increased by 91 percent in this period compared with the same period last year, and tourism officials say luxury hotel bookings for August and through mid-September are fully booked . 

Over 16 million foreign tourists have visited Turkey since the beginning of the year

The owner of a tour operator agency, Recep Yavuz, who conducted a study on tourist activity in the city, told the pro-government Sabah newspaper that 80,000-90,000 people arrive in Antalya every day.

He added that some tourists who arrived in Antalya were transferred to other areas due to a lack of available accommodation.

"It looks like Antalya will have one of its best seasons this year," Yavuz said.

Antalya attracts guests from all over the world not only with its luxurious hotels located in the towns of the Mediterranean coast, with its non-stop night life, with its delicious food and numerous archaeological and historical sites.

The county is actually also full of secluded beautiful uncrowded beaches.

Antalya is home to over 200 of Turkey's nearly 500 Blue Flag beaches.

People who really want to break away from luxury and bustle can jump to the area of ​​the ancient city of Olympos (Olympos), where there are beautiful and even pristine beaches, where hippies from all over the world gather.  

Many tourists also arrive in Antalya who want to climb the peaks of Mount Toros.

Last year, in addition to the covid restrictions, mountain tourism in the area was also blocked due to the destructive forest fires, but this year tourists can safely organize hikes.

And in the beautiful mountain rising above the city, during the winter season, ski tourism is also developed. 

In practice, tourism accumulates the largest revenues in the economy of Antalya.

In addition, highly developed sectors in the area are construction and agriculture.

Antalya is famous for the cultivation of pomegranates, oranges, bananas, grapes and, accordingly, for the production of various wines.

The county is also famous for its rose oil production. 

Meanwhile, the tour operators in Antalya have already built an interesting strategy for the winter.

Turkish television CNN-Turk informs that millions of pensioners from Western Europe are planned to be attracted to Antalya during the winter months with extremely favorable offers.

According to the television, many German pensioners already in July took advantage of the opportunity to get a long and profitable holiday in the Mediterranean Turkish district through early bookings. 

tourism