Istanbul, The Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism has announced that the number of tourists during the first quarter of this year reached 9 million and 68 tourists. The Turkish Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy said during a press conference that the number of tourists coming to Turkiye during the first quarter of 2024 increased by 16.7 percent compared to the same period last year. He added that the average stay of foreign tourists in Turkiye reached 11.1 days during the same period, indicating that the Turkish tourism sector is close to returning to the pre-pandemic numbers. The Turkish Ministry of Treasury and Finance has set a goal of receiving 60 million foreign tourists in 2023 and increasing tourism revenues to $56 billion this year. The country also aims to receive 90 million tourists in 2028, and raise tourism revenues to $100 billion. Source: Qatar News Agency