The Turkish state of Antalya hosted the largest number of tourists among the tourist areas in the entire Mediterranean region.

During the first ten months of the year 2021, 8 million and 616 thousand tourists visited the state of Antalya, which is known as the capital of Turkish tourism in the south.

Despite the outbreak of the Corona pandemic around the world, Antalya succeeded in attracting tourists from 60 countries, led by Russia, Ukraine, Germany, Poland, Kazakhstan, Romania, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, in conjunction with the lifting of travel restrictions.

The state of Antalya is a major destination for tourists, globally, due to its nature, historical and cultural value, in addition to its sun, sand and breathtaking beaches.

The tourist city of Antalya in Turkey hosted the largest number of tourists from the Mediterranean basin (Getty Images)

safe tourism

The state of Antalya had announced that it aimed to attract nearly 7 million tourists to the state until the end of this year 2021, but its goal later rose to 9 million after the huge turnout of foreign tourists to the state.

Erkan Yağcı, President of the Association of Hotel Owners and Operators in the Mediterranean, said that the tourism sector in Turkey showed the world that safe tourism is possible even under epidemic conditions, by taking the necessary measures and measures and cooperation between the public and private sectors.

Yagci expressed his expectations that the number of tourists coming to Antalya will exceed 9 million, until the end of this year, especially since the current tourist season is considered one of the best tourist seasons compared to previous years.

He assured Anadolu Agency that one of the most important tools of success in this period is the Safe Tourism Certificate Program, which came as a result of the efforts made by the Ministry of Tourism to combat the Corona virus and support the tourism sector, noting that the program gave visitors a message that they can, by adhering to the instructions provided, spend a safe holiday. and fun.


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Yağcı added, “Thanks to this message, Antalya has also taken the lead among its competitors around the world. It has turned into one of the leading cities in the field of tourism in the world, and during the past ten months has been able to host 8 million and 616,000 domestic and foreign tourists. This number doubled The number of tourists in the Spanish islands of Mallorca, which is considered the closest competitor to Antalya. This number reflects an important success, especially with the return of tourism in Turkey and the world after the decline in the impact of the pandemic."

For her part, Ulkay Atmaca, president of the Association of Professional Hotel Managers of Turkey, said that Antalya has all the capabilities needed to host more than 9 million tourists by the end of this year.

Atmaja added that tourists continue to come to the city, and that the number of foreign tourists that have been registered in the state during the past ten months is a source of happiness.

Atmaja also indicated that reservations for the year 2022 are currently going well, and that more than 8.5 million tourists came to Antalya and left it happily, pointing out that this was achieved through the measures and measures that were taken through the cooperation of the public and private sectors.

Antalya is one of Turkey's most popular cities for tourists (Al Jazeera)

Tourism Pioneer

Atmaja explained that Antalya is on its way to becoming a leader in tourism in the world, especially after hosting the largest number of tourists among the tourist areas in the Mediterranean basin.

In turn, the General Director of the Turkish NBK Tourism Company, Recep Yavuz, said that the year 2021 witnessed radical changes for the world of tourism, as the tourism movement around the world regained its glory.

Yavuz stated that countries that took the correct measures to combat the epidemic and acted transparently with the world were able to recover quickly and restore tourism and the economy's wheel to rotation.

Antalya took the lead among its competitors (Getty Images)

"Spain, which ranked first in the world with the largest number of tourists in 2019, could not recover from the effects of the epidemic. Turkey was able to overtake Spain thanks to the decisive measures and the excellent performance shown by Antalya," Yavuz added.

Yavuz noted that Greece, which is one of the important competitors, was unable to reach the expected numbers of tourists due to its insufficient health infrastructure.

He concluded by saying, "According to the ranking of countries receiving foreign tourists, Turkey ranked first, Spain ranked second, and Greece ranked third. We have surpassed the strong competitor Spain during the epidemic stage and we are doing everything we can to maintain the leading position."