Number of tourists visiting Istanbul up

ISTANBUL (A.A) - The number of tourists visiting Istanbul in 2011 was up 16 percent when compared to the previous year and was recorded as 8,057,879. According to the Culture and Tourism Department of Istanbul, 6,960,980 tourists had visited Istanbul in 2010. Most of the tourists who arrived in Istanbul used the Ataturk and Sabiha Gokcen airports for entry. In 2011, 7,505,647 tourists chose to arrive in Istanbul by airway. Most of these tourists used the Ataturk International Airport. 12.2 percent of all tourists visiting Istanbul in 2011 were Germans followed by the Russians (6.1 percent) and Americans (5.5 percent).