January tourism records broken in Turkey’s Antalya

The Mediterranean gem of Antalya in Turkey, which played host to around 141,000 people in January 2019 pre-COVD, was on the holiday route of 219,647 tourists from overseas during the same period in 2023.

COVID-19 Pandemic

Throughout the COVID-19 global pandemic, Antalya continued to host tourists using the Turkish Safe Tourism Certificate program, and while the whole world was affected by the pandemic, the region closed last year with 13.5 million foreign tourists. There are hopes that 2023 will bring in more, with expectations high.

Data of January from 2018

According to the data provided by the Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism, around 91,762 foreign tourists arrived to the region and city by air in January 2018, which increased dramatically during the same period in 2019 to 140,856 visitors, which saw records break. In 2020, the effects of the pandemic had not yet begun to be felt and the city saw 185,485 guests visiting in January 2020. In the shadow of the pandemic 2021 saw only 49,841 people, while 2022 brought 138,604 people to the region.

A look at January 2023

With a hopeful outlook going into 2023, the city saw, in January alone, an influx in tourists reaching 219,647. This is a dramatic increase of 58% when compared to 2022, which saw the recovery after the peak of the pandemic.

Top 10 countries sending tourists

Ranking the number of tourists from each country being sent, Russia sat in first for every single period. During January, Russians made up 71,752 tourists travelling to the city, followed by Germany who brought 35,214 people, the United Kingdom had 13,512 tourists fly to the area. Poland sent 8,086 people to the area, while Israel took fifth with 7,570 tourists flocking to the area.

Also in the top ten for visitors were Jordan, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, the Netherlands and Belgium.

Antalya’s prospects for tourists

The Governor of Antalya, Ersin Yazici, said that in Antalya there are 45-holiday villages and a further 401 hotels with 5-star status. Yazici continued to say that the numbers had made the stakeholders and the tourism sector itself very happy, after highlighting that the activity within the city that had started last spring had continued through the winter season too.

Speaking further, Yazici noted that the “12 months tourism” goal has entered into the final stage for accomplishment. This is something that the city has been trying to make for years.

Promising figures for the year ahead

The Head of the Professional Hotel Managers Association (POYD), Ulkay Atmaca, explained that the last year had been a great year for the city, and they were starting 2023 with already promising figures.

Atmaca said: "The ongoing early reservation has an effect on both the domestic and international markets, and at the same time, most of the passengers who have not been able to leave their homes for the last two winters are trying to travel.”

Projections for the rest of 2023

Projections show that there will be a busy summer season ahead, and Atmaca said that he believes Antalya is progressing incredibly well in comparison to its foreign competitors. Atmaca explained: “It was 15.8 million in 2019, and we can easily catch 17 million this year.”