Nearly 2.89 million foreigners visited Turkey in May

By Tuba Sahin

ANKARA

The number of foreigners visiting Turkey increased by 16.3 percent in May compared to the same month last year, according to official data revealed on Thursday.

Almost 2.89 million foreign visitors arrived in Turkey last month, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism said in a bulletin.

The data showed that 21 percent -- 608,472 -- of foreign visitors were from Russia. Germans and Georgians followed with 10.2 percent (295,007) and 8.2 percent (235,462), respectively.

In the first five months of the year, the number of foreigners visiting Turkey totalled nearly 8.8 million, marking an increase of 5.6 percent compared to the same period last year, the ministry said.

During the same period, almost 41 percent of foreigners arrived in Istanbul while Mediterranean resort province of Antalya hosted 20.8 percent of visitors.