Antalya

With a groundbreaking new virus test available at check-in, with speedy results, Turkish-German joint venture SunExpress is looking to take the worry out of air travel in the age of coronavirus.

Turkey welcomed some 11.2 million foreign visitors during the first 10 months of 2020, the country's Culture and Tourism Ministry said on Nov. 23.

During lockdowns and travel restrictions worldwide due to the pandemic, the number of foreigners visiting the country posted a decline by around 72.5% on a yearly basis, the ministry data showed.

The resumption of flights between Turkey and Russia amid strong measures to fight coronavirus set off a flood of tourists, with 80 airplanes full of Russian tourists landing in the resort city of Antalya in just one day, according to local officials.

In Turkey, 434,757 residential properties were sold in the first five months of 2020, the country's statistical authority announced on June 15.

Housing sales dropped 2.2% or 9,684 units in the five-month period, compared to the same period last year, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) data.

A beach on the Turkish Mediterranean has set up social distancing areas and rules to guard against any new coronavirus outbreak.

Under a pilot program on Konyaaltı Beach in the resort city of Antalya, 9 square meter private areas have been set up with a distance of 1.5-2 m between them.

Following its measures against the coronavirus outbreak, Turkey is now accepting health tourism patients from countries worldwide.

After accepting patients from 31 countries, Turkey's Health Ministry announced Thursday that people from all countries are eligible.

Kyrgyzstan has flown back 1,087 of its nationals from Turkey since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak, according to the country's envoy to Turkey. 

In an interview with Anadolu Agency, Ambassador Kubanychbek Omuraliev said the country "appreciates the assistance of the Government of Turkey with the return of citizens to Kyrgyzstan" during the repatriation process.

Turkey is experiencing the warmest May due to hot weather front from North Africa, causing rising temperatures across the country, according to state meteorology officials.
After the weekend during which the temperatures set all-time record highs for May in Antalya, Muğla, Burdur and Isparta, temperatures hit 40 degrees Celsius on May 18 in most cities.

A Dutch tour operator is selling "corona-free" holiday packages for its three hotels in the Mediterranean province of Antalya.

Hotels in Turkey's Mediterranean resort city of Antalya are getting prepared for the tourism season with the normalization period over the pandemic.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said last week that Turkey will normalize gradually during the May-July period.