Tourism Ministry

It is time for Bulgaria to position itself on the main European and non-European markets as an four-season tourism destination, the head of a key tourism think-tank has said.

The number of foreign arrivals to Turkey dropped by 25.8 percent to 2.45 million in October, compared to the same month in 2015, temporary data from the Tourism Ministry showed on Nov. 29. 

This was the smallest shrinkage in foreign arrivals in the last seven months, as Turkey's tourism industry struggles amid political and security concerns.

Around 1.3 billion dollars' worth of new hotel investments are underway in Istanbul despite ongoing problems in the sector, Turkey's hoteliers association said Nov. 1, warning of a serious oversupply in beds.

Turkey's tourism revenue decreased by 32.7 percent to $8.3 billion in the third quarter of 2016 compared to the same period of last year, amid a dramatic plunge in the number of foreign tourists visiting the country, data from the Turkish Statistics Institute (TÜİK) showed on Oct. 31.

Tourists spent an average per visit of $686 in the mentioned period, according to data.

The number of foreign visitors to Turkey dropped 31.9 percent to 20.2 million in the first nine months of the year compared to the same period in 2015, data from the Tourism Ministry showed on Oct. 27. 

The number of foreign arrivals to Turkey dropped in September by 32.84 percent to 2.86 million people, data showed.  

The closure of Istanbul's main cruise port for the extension of a port project has negatively affected the economy of one of the top historic districts in the city.

The number of foreigners visiting Turkey fell 37.96 percent year-on-year to 3.1 million in August from 5.1 million a year earlier, with dramatic declines in arrivals from Western countries, Asian nations and Russia, temporary data from the Tourism Ministry showed on Sept. 29. 

With more than 700,000 local tourists flocking to Turkey's Aegean and Mediterranean resorts, hotel occupancy rates hit almost 100 percent during the nine-day Eid al-Adha (Feast of Sacrifice) holiday, according to sector representatives.  

Bulgaria is moving strongly in the direction of becoming an all-inclusive destination, stated Tourism Minister Nikolina Angelkova to Darik radio.

The number of foreign arrivals visiting Turkey slumped by 28 percent in April to 1.75 million compared to the same month of 2015, marking the steepest decline since May 1999, according to data issued by the Tourism Ministry on May 27.

Almost half of the foreign arrivals were made by day visitors, the data showed.