Antalya becomes center of attraction for Russians
Posted by meb at September 6th, 2008
Antalya has become the most popular vacation destination for Russian tourists, according to the Anatolia news agency.
Russia sends more tourists to Turkey than anywhere else, according to data compiled by Anatolia. Escaping their country’s cold climate for Turkey’s sun, sand and sea, Russians prefer to take their vacations in Antalya.
In terms of numbers of tourists visiting Antalya, Russians ranked first with 1.6 million tourists in the first eight months of this year. German tourists got the second spot with 1.5 million visitors and Ukrainians followed Germans with 335,595 tourists. A total of 6.5 million tourists, including both foreign and domestic tourists, visited Antalya in the first eight months of 2008. In the same period Antalya was also the most popular vacation spot for Iranian and Spanish tourists. The number of Iranian tourists in Antalya increased by 117 percent compared to last year, and the number of Spanish tourists increased by 267 percent.
Antalya Culture and Tourism Agency General Manager İbrahim Acar told Anatolia that Antalya features nearly 800 hotels and holiday villages and that these places offer high quality, operating above global tourism standards. Stressing that this was the reason Antalya is among the most popular holiday centers in Turkey and Europe, Acar said Russian tourists choose Antlaya as their first holiday destination, along with Europeans.
“I know some German tourists who have never taken vacations to anywhere but Antalya. They are seeking a way to settle in Antalya and live here permanently,” Acar added, touching upon the German tourist volume in Antalya, which was only recently surpassed by that of the Russians.
source: Today’s Zaman
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