Haberturk – Türkiye’s tourism is flourishing this year as income from foreign visitors took a noticeable hike in the first four months of 2011. According to a report by the payment company Visa Europe, tourist spending in the country reached EUR 444 million in the January-April period.
The report based its findings on retail spending using Visa-branded credit cards, debit cards as well as cash withdrawals. Visa lists Türkiye with other Mediterranean countries, France, Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain, which altogether earned EUR 7.5 billion from foreign visitors. The increase Türkiye saw in tourist spending means a 32 percent rise over the same period a year earlier while the average increase in the group remained at a level of 14 percent.