Tourism statistics for the whole of 2009 are now available.

The World Tourism Organisation tells us that 2009 was a tough year for the global tourism industry.  

If we look close to home, as far as Europe is concerned, it estimates that tourist numbers were down by 6% in 2009.

In Turkey, there was better news, as numbers rose by almost 3%.  The Turkish Hoteliers Federation believes that this trend will continue in 2010.

The statistics show that tourist numbers have increased from 23.3 million in 2007, to 26.3 million in 2008 and 27 million in 2009.  In 2010, Turkey expects no fewer than 28 million visitors.

In terms of British visitors, the numbers are consistently increasing - 1.9 million in 2007, 2.2 million in 2008 and 2.4 million in 2009.

To read our earlier local news article on tourism in Kalkan, published in November 2009, please click here.

If you wish to look at the full statistics for 2009 (in Turkish), click on the following link: Turkish Tourism Website

and then click on 2009 Yılı Aralık Ayı Sınır Giriş-Çıkış İstatistikleri.