The number of foreigners visiting Turkey doubled year-on-year to 3.5 million in October, Turkey's Culture and Tourism Ministry revealed on Monday.

The figure was down 19% from its pre-pandemic level of 4.3 million foreigners in October 2019, data showed.

The Mediterranean resort city of Antalya was the top draw for foreign visitors, welcoming some 1.6 million this October.

Istanbul, Turkey's largest city by population, attracted 1.2 million foreign tourists and Edirne in northwestern Turkey, which borders both Bulgaria and Greece, welcomed 244,002 foreigners in the month.

The country hosted 9.8 million visitors, including Turkish citizens living abroad, in October.

Russians made up 26% or 905,379 of all visitors, followed by 476,370 Germans, 217,608 Ukrainians, 171,601 Bulgarians, and 155,714 Iranians.

In January-October, the country saw 21.1 million foreign arrivals, up 88% from the same period last year.