ISTANBUL — Turkey’s tourism numbers bounced back in a big way last year, with 30.7 million foreign visitors arriving in the first 11 months of 2017.

According to the Culture and Tourism Ministry, this represents a 27.7% increase on a yearly basis, up from 24 million in January-November 2016. The number of foreign arrivals saw a 22.13% year-on-year increase in November, peaking at 1.65 million.

Russian nationals made up the largest group of visitors, with a 15.3% share in total arrivals (approximately 4.6 million) in the first 11 months of the year, followed by Germans (11.2%) and Iranians (7.5%).

July proved to be the most popular month for tourists, with some 5.1 million arrivals, followed by August with 4.6 million.

Official data also showed that most visitors arrived by air (22.4 million). Rail was a distant second choice, with 7.6 million visitors choosing this method of transportation, followed by boat with around 750,000 arrivals.

According to Derya Serbetci Acar, Director of the Turkey Tourism Office Board in Canada, “Turkey is ready to welcome Canadians with its unmatched beauty, the most delicious cuisine and its rich culture and history.”

For more information on travel to Turkey go to turkeytourism.ca.