More than 1.22 million Middle East travellers landed in Turkey in the first half of the year, according to data released by the Turkish Consulate General Cultural and Information Office in Dubai, UAE.

During the same period, travel to Turkey has grown by 10 per cent, and an estimated annual growth of 20.5 per cent by the end of the year.

Tourist traffic to Turkey from the GCC resident and nationals GCC continued to show strength, rising 26.29 per cent as compared to 2016, or an estimated 360,000 travellers.

The number of United Arab Emirates citizens and residents travelling to Turkish destinations increased by 9.86 per cent. While Kuwaiti traveller numbers increased by 41.04 per cent and 31.86 per cent from Bahrain.

“We expect GCC traveller traffic to Turkey to continue its strong growth over the coming six months,” said Salih Ozer, Attaché of Culture and Information, Turkey to the UAE. “Turkey continues to be a leading destination for GCC travellers due to our close cultural, religious and diplomatic ties with the region.”

The first six months of last year saw a decrease of 20.99 per cent in traveller traffic from the UAE to Turkey, and this year recovered to increase by 10 per cent, or over 18,000 travellers. Ramadan played a big part where UAE travel into Turkey increased by 330.33 per cent.

Travellers from Saudi Arabia lead the way however, with over 205,000 holidaymakers, followed by Kuwait and Bahrain with 94,000 and 23,000 respectively. Tourists from the UAE showed continued interest in Turkey with over 18 thousand travellers landing in the country between January and June.

“As Turkey’s temperate summer continues to attract GCC travellers looking to get away from the desert heat, we found that business travel has also picked over the past few years,” continued Ozer. “This increased intensity in travel illustrates the substantial bridge of commercial and trade links between Turkey and the region.”

Kuwait, which is the Gulf country that sends the most tourists to Turkey after Saudi Arabia every year, closed this year with an increase of 41.04 per cent, over 94 thousand people over the same time period.

Flights from Kuwait did not only head towards the traditional destinations such as Istanbul and Antalya, but to alternative ones such as Bursa and Izmir. “We organized a tourism workshop in Kuwait this year to develop tourism relations between our country and Kuwait. We met with local tourism sector representatives to discuss the challenges and opportunities,” said Ozer.

Similar to last year, Bahrain so far this year saw traveller traffic grow by 31.86 per cent, or about 24,000 people. “We see serious demand for Turkey in Bahrain and we are working to reinforce our cultural and tourism ties by organising activities like workshops and Turkish Food festivals,” he concluded.

The most visited site in Istanbul was the Hagia Sophia, the Orthodox basilica turned imperial mosque, which graces the city's amazing skyline. That was followed by the Sultan Ahmed Mosque or Blue Mosque as it's popularly known, and finally, the Topkapı Palace that served as the Ottman Empire's administrative headquarters in the 15th century. – TradeArabia News Service