The number of Indonesian tourists traveling to Turkey, in the first four months this year, increased 97.28 percent compared to the same period last year, reaching 33,659 thousand.

Turkey has become the second stopover for many Indonesians as they return from Saudi Arabia after performing Umrah. Most Indonesian tourists mainly visit Turkey's different historic and tourist destination.

According to the Culture and Tourism Ministry, 33,659 Indonesian tourists traveled to Turkey between this January and April, an increase of 97.28 percent compared to the same period last year.

Istanbul, Muğla, Antalya, and Aydın were among the top destinations for Indonesian tourists in Turkey.

According to the Indonesian Embassy in Ankara, many of its citizens are visiting Turkey's historic and popular tourist destination, on their return trip from Saudi Arabia after performing Umrah, a pilgrimage to Mecca that can be undertaken any time of the year, with a layover in Turkey.

INDONESIAN UMRAH PASSENGERS PREFER THY

The number of Indonesian passengers flying with Turkish Airlines (THY) increased 34.3 percent last year compared to 2015, reaching 83,909 thousand.

The THY hauled some 32,080 passengers from Indonesia to Turkey between January 1 and April 15, 2016, in 365 flights between the two countries.

Turkish Airlines officials said the Istanbul-Singapore-Jakarta-Istanbul flight, which began on Sep. 3, 2010, was changed to Istanbul-Jakarta-Istanbul in May 2015.

Pointing out THY's preference among Umrah passengers as of great potential as it contributes positively to the number of passengers and occupancy rate, THY officials said that were planning to raise the number of daily flights to two, in the face of strong demand.