Türkiye's southwestern resort province of Muğla, renowned for its natural beauty and ancient cities has hosted nearly 2.5 million tourists in the first eight months of the year, as per provincial tourism data.

A prominent tourist attraction on the Aegean coast, and home to some of the most pristine beaches in the country, Muğla draws the attraction of millions of foreign and local guests annually, hosting them at some 340,000-bed capacity facilities.

Between January and August this year, Muğla welcomed some 2,429,981 tourists, according to information compiled by Anadolu Agency (AA) from the Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism.

Leading the list of holidaymakers to Muğla were visitors from the United Kingdom, with 1,023,554 tourists, making up more than a third of the total visitors, according to the data.

Some 283,604 Russian tourists visited Muğla in the same period, while 161,669 tourists arrived from Poland at the same time.

Among others, arrivals from Germany and the Netherlands closed the list of the top five countries that sent most tourists, while the city has also welcomed some 758,450 tourists from other countries in the same period.

Mehmet Ayyıldız, the president of the Marmaris Chamber of Tradesmen and Craftsmen told AA that there was a 15% increase in the number of tourists compared to the same period last year, noting that approximately 40% of them were British citizens.

"The 15% increase compared to the same period last year is very pleasing for our tradespeople. This situation encourages and motivates us for the new tourism promotions we plan to carry out in 2024," he said.

Ayyıldız also stated that the tourism season would continue for approximately two more months and expressed their intention to close the season with a significant increase in figures.

Mutlu Ayhan, chairperson of the Marmaris Chamber of Commerce echoed Ayyıldız, expressing they are pleased with the surge in the number of foreign passengers arriving via international flights at Dalaman Airport.

Ayhan also mentioned an increase in the Polish market, owing to their participation in the Warsaw Fair for the first time last year.

He added that they had achieved significant growth in the tourism market this year and were hopeful for this positive trend to continue for the next year.