Foreigners continued to pack Türkiye’s biggest metropolis in September, with Russians being the main driver of the rebound that has helped exceed even the period before the coronavirus pandemic.

Foreign arrivals in Istanbul jumped 64% year-over-year in September, reaching almost 1.61 million, up from around 975,915 a year ago, the data from the provincial culture and tourism directorate showed.

The arrivals have been increasing throughout the year, surging nearly 115% in June to over 1.47 million, reaching close to 1.7 million in July and 1.66 million in August, according to the official data.

The buoyant September brought the number of foreign tourists in the first nine months to nearly 11.79 million, the data showed, a 102% increase from a year ago.

The arrivals have been mainly backed by Russian visitors who opted for Türkiye due to flight restrictions applied by Western countries after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Istanbul, together with Türkiye’s Mediterranean resort of Antalya, has been the top destination for Russian tourists, who topped the list among foreigners in September.

The data showed some 170,230 Russians arrived in the Turkish metropolis in September. They were followed by arrivals from Germany at 114,439, Iran at 110,539, the U.S. at just over 77,000 and the United Kingdom at 58,028.

The data also showed citizens from 195 different countries had visited Istanbul in September, including one person from Samoa, and two people each from the Vatican, the Kingdom of Eswatini, Puerto Rico and East Timor.