According to data released by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism on Wednesday, the number of foreign tourists arriving in Turkey increased by 26.06 percent in March compared to the same month of the previous year, bringing the total figure for the month to 1.84 million.

The data, which were prepared according to information accessed from the General Directorate of Security, also revealed that the number of tourists visiting the country went up by 22.5 percent in the first quarter compared to same period in 2012, with a total of 4.2 million tourists during this time. The number of tourists visiting the country in the first quarter of last year was 3.4 million.

The data show that 40,000 tourists out of the 1.8 million in March were day visitors, while most entries were made through gates in İstanbul, Antalya, Edirne, Artvin and İzmir in that order. Meanwhile, Germany led the way in being the country of origin of most tourists with a share of 16.6 percent in March. Iran and Georgia followed with 7 percent and 6.6 percent, respectively. Syria, Bulgaria, Russia, England, Greece, Azerbaijan and France also ranked in the top 10.