In Turkey overall, there were 981,611 visitors in January and 997,571 visitors in February. Accordingly, 47.8 percent of visitors to Turkey spent time in Istanbul.
From the tourists that came to Istanbul, 1,593,292 chose to fly while 12,320 preferred to arrive by sea. Compared to figures from the first three months last year, the numbers of travelers via air increased by 18 percent while the percentage of travelers that came via sea decreased by 13 percent.
In the first three month period of this year, 7,203 tourists entered the Karaköy Port for a day trip, while 14 percent of visitors arrived to the Sabiha Gökçen Airport.
GERMANS PREFER ISTANBUL
Upon analysis of the nationalities that tend to visit the city, German's took the top spot with 10.4 percent. In second after Germans were Russians with seven percent. Iran followed in third with 5.2 percent, followed by Brits at 4.4 percent and Americans at 4.1 percent, followed by France at four percent, Italians at 3.6 percent, the Dutch and Libyans both at 2.8 percent, Ukrainians at 2.6 percent, Japanese at 2.5 percent Azeri's at 2.3 percent, Iraqi's at 2.1 percent, South Koreans at two percent followed by Kazakhs at 1.9 percent.
In the first three months of the year, there was one visitor each from Burma, the Faroe Islands, Belize, the Gilbert Islands, Greenland, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Virgin Islands and Zaire.
In comparison to the first three months of last year, there was a drop this year in visitors from Japan, Spain, Italy and Israel. There was an increase however in visitors from Germany, Iran, Holland, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, South Korea, Austria, Switzerland and Turkmenistan.
The number of tourists visiting Turkey increased due to the events which transpired in Tunisia, Iraq, Libya and Egypt.
CONSTRUCTION OF 104 FACILITIES ONGOING
In the city, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism has 770 accommodation facilities and 392 operating facilities, totaling 1,162 accommodations with an overall 113,432 bed capacity.
Meanwhile, 104 facilities which will belong to the Miistry of Culture and Tourism are currently under construction, 23 of which will be on the Asian side, and 81 of which are on European side of Istanbul. In addition, construction is ongoing in Istanbul for seven private facilities, six boutique hotels, 29 five-star hotels, 17 four-star hotels, 12 three-star hotels, four two-star hotels and two bed and breakfasts. While the city currently offers food, drink and accommodation facilities for 89,002 people, construction is ongoing for an additional 4,343 capacity.
According to Istanbul's Culture and Tourism Director Ahmet Emre Bilgili, figures from the first three months of this year show a 17.5 percent growth which is especially significant due to the fact that the effects of the global crisis are still evident in the tourism sector.
"The fact that Istanbul is a leading cultural, arts, history, archeology and tourism capital, and is engrained in the mind as being a site which has determined civilizations, coupled by the fact that its diversified tourism options such as, congress, gastronomy and shopping tours as well as the price quality advantage all play important roles."
District Culture and Tourism Director Bilgili: "In May, Istanbul broke a historical record by hosting over one million foreign visitors in a single month.
The number of Israeli tourists to visit Antalya has increased by 133.3 percent. Tourists from the United States have also increased by 119 percent, while the number of tourists from Iran dropped by 63 percent. 
While European tourists spend approximately 800 dollars a week in our country, Arab tourists spend four times that amount. The biggest issue in terms of drawing in tourists to the nation’s Eastern Black Sea region is the lack in accommodation.
With the landing of the first flight to arrive to the ATM Dalaman Airport from Blackpool, England passengers were greeted with carnations and Turkish delight upon their arrival. 
The total sum of visiting tourists in Turkey reached 6 million 665 thousand 379 in the first four months of the year.
With 383 beaches, 21 marinas and 13 yachts accredited with Blue Flags, Turkey has now bumped France from its throne to become the third country, following Spain and Greece, to have the highest number of Blue Flags.
Russians residing and vacationing in Antalya's Alanya district commemorated the 68th anniversary of May 9th Victory Day, which marks the Soviet Union’s (USSR) victory over Nazi Germany, in a celebration held at the Goldcity Tourism Complex. 
Miniatürk, a miniature park located on the shore of the Golden Horn in Istanbul which hosts 1/25th scale models of significant structures located throughout the Turkish and Ottoman geography from the past 3,000 years, is seeing an increase in interest every year since it was first opened a decade ago. 
The number of trips taken in Turkey in 2012, decreased by 1.4 percent to reach a total 64,922,000. 
One of India’s most popular magazines, AsiaSpa India has awarded Turkey for being the most favorite spa destination in Europe. 
The Association of Turkish Travel Agencies (TÜRSAB) President Ulusoy: "It is speculated that in 2013 the number of tourists will reach 33 million and tourism revenue will be approximately 31.5 billion dollars.”
The Presidential Çankaya Palace hosted a signing ceremony for eight agreements with Kuwait on Monday. 
The incentives implemented by the government have allowed the nation’s health tourism industry to soar: 250,000 patients from 107 different countries have chosen to receive treatment in Turkey. 
Foreign nationals planning to visit Turkey will now be able to obtain their visas online through an electronic visa application system (e-Visa) launched by the Republic of Turkey on April 17. 
