28,775 Bahrainis visited Turkey between January and May

Manama : Travellers from Bahrain to Turkey increased by 30.6 per cent in the first five months of this year as compared to the previous year, data revealed. Turkey strengthened its position as a popular travel destination for Bahrainis as the country witnessed a considerable increase in the number of visitors from Bahrain this year. 28,775 Bahrainis visited Turkey in the period between January and May, around 30 per cent more compared to the same period last year, according to the latest data released by the Turkish Consulate General Cultural and Information Office for the GCC countries.  

Business, medical as well as pleasure tourism were all described as ‘popular’ among Bahraini travellers to Turkey. According to the data, 17,500 Bahrainis travelled to Turkey in 2016. The number grew to 22,031 in 2017 and it is expected to be substantially higher at the end of 2018. “Turkey continues to be an attractive destination for Bahraini business people, holidaymakers and those seeking medical services due to our strong cultural ties,” said Turkish diplomat Salah Ozer. “The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) recently named Turkey as the world’s sixth most visited country in 2017, welcoming 39.9 million tourists. Such achievements and accolades will help in growing the number of tourists travelling to Turkey in 2018.”  

Chief Executive Officer of Global Travel & Tour Suhaib Kidwai said that he has seen tourism to Turkey increase rapidly in the past two years. “The popularity of Turkey as a travel destination for Bahrainis is because of multiple factors. First, the country is very ‘visa-friendly’; there are no hassles in the applications for a visa since they are so keen on helping tourists and supporting tourism to the country. The country is also seen as a Gateway to Europe. At our company as well, we have seen a gradual increase in sales for travel to Turkey. It is now one of our top selling packages,” he told Tribune.

Turkey has seen a great number of visitors from other countries in the region as well. From January to May, 28,775 from Qatar, and 15,417 from the UAE travelled to Turkey. The country also recorded a 17.25 per cent increase in the number of visitors from Kuwait during the first five months of this year as 90,590 Kuwaiti travellers chose Turkey as their travel destination. Around 50 per cent of the total tourists from the GCC region to Turkey were from Kuwait.