Türkiye’s popular holiday hub, Antalya, welcomed nearly 17.3 million visitors last year, marking a new record for the Mediterranean city, according to recently shared tourism data.
The number of tourists arriving in Antalya in 2024 increased by 8% compared to the previous year. It reached 16.93 million, according to data from the provincial directorate of culture and tourism on Friday.
Including the 352,754 transfer passengers entering the city from Antalya Airport, the total number of visitors in 2024 was 17.28 million, a new record high.
"Our city, one of the most important centers of world tourism, experienced a record year by reaching the highest number of visitors in its history with a total of 17.28 million," Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy said in a post on X.
"This historic success once again demonstrated the international appeal of our city," he added.
The positive momentum was welcomed by sector representatives in the city, who now hope to host some 18 million visitors this year, Anadolu Agency (AA) reported on Saturday.
"We had predicted 17 million at the beginning of the season. It is pleasing that so many people came to the city. This year, we will probably see 18.5 million," Hakan Saatçioğlu, President of the Professional Hotel Managers Association (POYD), told AA.
Antalya, known for its favorable climate and numerous beaches, has emerged as one of the world's prominent tourism destinations, hosting the largest number of visitors in Türkiye, along with Istanbul.
The resort city recently received the 2025 "Tourism City of the Year Award" of the D-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation.
The city, often called a jewel of the Turkish Riviera, was highly favored by tourists arriving from Russia, Germany and Britain in 12 months of 2024, the data revealed.
Last year, the city welcomed 3.9 million Russians, the largest group of foreign visitors. They were followed by Germans with 3.52 million and Brits with 1.57 million.
The other countries on the list of top visitors included Poland, the Netherlands, Kazakhstan, Romania, Ukraine, Czechia and Lithuania.
The number of tourists coming to Antalya in December was recorded at 318,641, the data showed.
Last month, the most visitors to the city came from Germany, with 81,244, while Russia ranked second with 46,793 visitors, and the U.K. came in third with 34,170, respectively.
Antalya also achieved a historic success in the number of Turkish citizens coming from abroad in 2024. The number of citizens coming from abroad exceeded the 1 million threshold for the first time in one year. This data was also seen as an important turning point for the city's tourism.
Kaan Kaşif Kavaloğlu, president of the Mediterranean Touristic Hoteliers and Operators (AKTOB), also said that they have left behind a good year in tourism.
Pointing out that the momentum of the increase in tourism has been regained after the global pandemic, Kavaloğlu said: "17 million was a figure we set in January last year. We are happy to have achieved the target. The target for this year is to exceed 18 million."
In the first 11 months of last year, foreign tourist arrivals in Türkiye increased by 7.1% year-over-year to over 50 million, marking a new all-time high even without December figures.
Including Turks residing abroad, the number of total visitors was close to 57.4 million in January-November.
In 2023, Türkiye welcomed a record 49.2 million foreign tourists. The Culture and Tourism Ministry is due to announce full-year 2024 data in the upcoming period.
