Turkey boasts one of the fastest growing tourism industries in the world. Its incredibly rich culture and history, and mild climate, along with the largest number of cheap flights to Turkey, have made it one of the most popular places to visit.
Statistics from the Turkish tourism board report an 11% increase in the number of visitors in the month of August this year compared to August last year, with the number exceeding 3.5 million for the first time. Of that number, Britain provides just under 10% of visitors, ranking third after the Russian Federation, and Germany provided the lion’s share, with more than 500,000 Germans visiting Turkey in just one month.
The most interesting thing about these figures is where most of these people were traveling to. Many would expect Istanbul, once known as Byzantium, and formerly Constantinople, to be the top destination. It is one of the largest cities in the world, and with more than two millennia of being one of the most important cities in the world, it is rich in culture and history, both from the East and the West. However, it is not Istanbul that is the main attraction (it only receives 19% of visitors), but Antalya that receives the most visitors, with almost 1.5 million visitors in just one month.
Antalya is located in the far south of Turkey, on the Mediterranean coast. Like much of Turkey, it has been inhabited for thousands of years, in fact there is evidence of settlement in Antalya for 150,000 years. The coast is incredibly beautiful, and despite the mild climate, there is even a ski resort nearby. Antalya is home to the chimera flames, which many claim are the source of the chimera myth, and there is much evidence of Hellenistic civilization throughout the city and the province that bears the same name.
Tourism in Turkey is growing all the time, and the money being raised has resulted in the development of better facilities for tourists, in the Antalya region there are no less than five major golf facilities operating in a small area called Belek. . There are hundreds of hotels open all the time, ranging from five-star luxury hotels to budget hotels and hostels; anything one could want for their vacation, whatever they are looking for
Turkey is an excellent destination for a vacation, although perhaps not in the height of summer, when the temperature can be very high and there are a large number of tourists. Anyone wary of Turkey’s reputation as a dangerous destination for tourists really shouldn’t miss a visit. Such a reputation is quite unfair; just arm yourself with a decent travel insurance policy and some common sense.