Nearly 3 million Russian tourists likely to visit Antalya this year: Consul general

ANTALYA - Doğan News Agency

Turkey’s Mediterranean resort province of Antalya will likely host nearly 3 million tourists from Russia this year, according to Russian Consul General in Antalya Oleg Rogoza.Rogoza noted that more than 3 million Russians visited Antalya annually before the diplomatic crisis between the two countries erupted at the end of 2015.With the normalization in bilateral ties, the number of Russians visiting Antalya will likely hit 2.5 million or 3 million again, he said, also predicting a surge in bilateral economic and trade relations.“The number of Russian travelers visiting Antalya’s tourism destinations saw a huge increase this year. In May alone, more than half a million Russian citizens visited Antalya. This showed the high confidence of Russian tourists in Antalya. According to the most optimistic estimates, nearly 2.5-3 million Russian tourists will visit Antalya this year,” Rogoza said.He also noted that Russians’ investments in Antalya hit over $2 billion and Russians bought nearly 8,000 properties within the province.The potential use of local currencies in bilateral trade, economic and tourism ties will also give a further boost to all these transactions, Rogoza added, stressing that his consulate was prioritizing ensuring the safety and security of Russian tourists visiting Antalya.“We have been in close contact with the local security forces. The Antalya administration has coordinated our cooperation with local security forces and given great importance to raising the safety and security conditions of tourist destinations,” he said.Meanwhile, the overall number of foreign tourists visiting Turkey saw a big increase in April, with the number of arrivals from Russia jumping around 485 percent. The rise follows months of difficulties amid a series of negative incidents including terror attacks, the diplomatic crisis with Moscow over the downing of a Russian jet, and the failed coup attempt.A total of 2.07 million foreign tourists visited Turkey in April, representing an 18.1 percent year-on-year increase, data from the Tourism Ministry showed on May 30.Russia was the second largest source for Turkey with an 8.78 percent share of the total.