Istanbul sees record drop in tourist arrivals in 2016

The number of foreign tourists visiting Istanbul declined to 9.2 million in 2016, a 25.9 percent decrease compared to the previous year, according to data from the Istanbul Culture and Tourism Directorate.

Drop in tourist arrivals in December 2016 is 18% compare to December 2015.

There is an increase in arrivals in 2016 only in January and it was only 0.1%. The highest drop in arrivals recorded in June; -35.2%.

4.441.458 foreign tourists visited Istanbul in the first half of 2016, and 4.762.529 in the second half of the year.

This was the first year-on-year decrease in the number of foreign arrivals to Istanbul since 2000.

The largest number of foreign tourists came from Europe with 3.9 million arrivals and the Middle East with 2.3 million. These were followed by Asia, Africa, North America, Latin America and Oceania.

Germans topped the list by taking 10.9 percent of the share in total arrivals in 2016, followed by Iranians at 7 percent, Saudi Arabians at 5.2 percent, Britons at 4 percent, French tourists at 3.9 percent, Americans at 3.5 percent and Russians at 3.2 percent.

Number of foreign tourist arrivals to Istanbul

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