In Antalya, which is preparing to break an all-time record in the history of tourism this year, the total number of tourists exceeded 16.6 million as of the end of November. The number of foreign tourists, which increased by 8 percent compared to the same period last year, reached the highest number of all time. Antalya’s record in the history of tourism is 15 million 689 thousand 258 people in 2023. It is predicted that the new record will exceed 17 million at the end of December.
MOST RUSSIAN TOURISTS CAME
AKTOB President Kaan Kaşif Kavaloğlu announced that Russians were in first place according to the data of the end of November. Kavaloğlu, Approximately 3 million 850 thousand Russians preferred Antalya for their holiday. In second place are the Germans, 3 million 400 thousand people. The British, who are very valuable to us, have exceeded 1.5 million people and are in third place. The fourth Poles are around 1 million 250 thousand people. Therefore, when we look at these figures, we can look to 2025 with hope after a difficult year. Now we have come to the last month of the year. In the last month of the year, the number of open hotels in Antalya actually decreased slightly. But the climate conditions are going very well. Yesterday, for example, people could swim in the sea in Antalya. “It is a great advantage for us,” he said.
ANTALYA’S FOUR MAIN MARKETS
Emphasizing that the four most important main markets for Antalya are Russia, Germany, England and Poland, Kavaloğlu said, “Although the Russia-Ukraine war continues, it is a great advantage that nearly 4 million Russian tourists choose Antalya for their holidays.” We are Russia’s #1 travel destination. We are not the number 1 travel destination in Germany or the UK. 1.5 million people come to Antalya from England, but 16.8 million people go to Spain. Therefore, we have a long way to go in Germany, England and even the Scandinavian countries. We aim to grow in these markets. We are for peace in Russia. Tourism is the language of peace. People prefer to come on holiday in a very prosperous way. “In this sense, I see that if the tension and war between Russia and Ukraine ends, Russians and Ukrainians will still prefer Antalya,” he said.
THE NUMBER OF TOURISTS FROM THE MIDDLE EAST DECREASED
Kavaloğlu, after 2019 data, we achieved the highest increase in Ukraine, they exceeded 1 million people. That figure dropped to 200 thousand. This year it will approach 500 thousand, but Ukrainians living in Europe also prefer Antalya for their holidays. But ending the war will be a great advantage for us. It will also be a great advantage for humanity. We want this war to end as soon as possible. Especially the tension in the Middle East also affects us in terms of tourism. This problem between Israel and Palestine has serious negative effects on tourism. There is also a serious decrease in the number of tourists coming from the Middle East. Of course, tourism professionals always prefer peace. “We prefer peace to come to this geography as soon as possible,” he said.
‘WE WILL HOST 17 MILLION BY THE END OF THE YEAR’
Professional Hotel Managers Association (POYD) President Hakan Saatçioğlu stated that the tourist numbers exceeding 16.6 million in Antalya at the end of November were the data they predicted, and that there was a slowdown in June and July. Like the European Football Championship and the Paris Olympics, but after that it picked up again and by the end of the year we will have hosted 17 million people. Our main markets are again Russia, followed by the Germans. There is a significant increase in the British population, then the Poles come. “Hoteliers will have achieved the figures we targeted,” he said.
