Russian tourists returning to Turkish resorts

The number of Russian tourists visiting Turkey soared 81.5% in January compared to the same month of 2016, although foreign arrivals to the country continued to decline, official data has showed. 

According to preliminary data released by the Tourism Ministry on Feb. 28, some 40,124 Russians visited Turkey in January. 

Russia thus ranked fifth in the top source of tourists for Turkey, following Georgia, Iran, Germany and Bulgaria. 

In 2016, the number of arrivals from Russia into Turkey regressed to 866,256 overall, a 76.2% drop from the previous year amid the diplomatic crisis between the two countries. 

A total of 3.65 million Russians visited Turkey in 2015 and 4.5 million in 2014, the Hurriyet daily news reported.

The Russian-Turkish relations soured after a Russian Su-24 was shot down over Syria.