Turkey's Q1 tourism up 22.5 percent as its rise continues

The number of tourists visiting Turkey in the first quarter of 2013 increased by 22.5 percent compared to the same period in 2012, and hit 4.2 million people, Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry's report published on Wednesday on its official website says.

The number of tourists visiting Turkey in March increased by 26 percent compared to the same month in 2012, reaching 1.8 million people. Most tourists visited such Turkish cities as Istanbul, Antalya, Istanbul, Edirne, Artvin and Izmir.

Over the first three months of 2013 Turkey has been visited by the greatest number of tourists from Germany -- 16.6 percent of the total number of tourists, Iran -- seven percent, Georgia -- 6.6 percent, and Syria -- five percent. In addition, during this period, Turkey has been visited by the great number of tourists from Bulgaria, Russia, Azerbaijan, Greece and the UK.

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