November 23, 2009
The number of foreign visitors to Turkey rose 6.28 percent year-on-year in October to 2.62 million, the Tourism Ministry said on Monday, pointing to a possible recovery in the important sector.
The number of visitors, who provide a key source of foreign currency for Turkey, rose 1.96 percent to 24.45 million in the first 10 months of the year, the ministry also said.
The number of tourists declined as much as 7.5 percent year-on-year earlier this year.
Despite the rise in the number of tourists coming to Turkey, revenues from the industry fell 4.6 percent from a year earlier to $9.526 billion in the high-season third quarter.
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Tourism receipts rose 18.5 percent last year to almost $22 billion, or 3 percent of gross domestic product.
A total of 26.336 million tourists visited Turkey in 2008, making it one of the top destinations in the Mediterranean.
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