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Afghanistan- 64.662Syria - 55.169Palestine - 17.127Turkmenistan - 13.168Morocco - 12.445Uzbekistan - 8.998Iraq - 8,334Iran - 6,765Yemen - 6.068Pakistan - 5,904Citizens of other countries - 39.494

Erkan Yagji, President of the Turkish Hoteliers Association TÜROFED, said that 80% of the rooms in hotels on the Antalya coast have already been booked, and since there is still a whole week before the New Year, the occupancy rate is likely to be even higher. Most of the Russians will come. By tradition, most of the vacationers are citizens of the Russian Federation. Citizens of Germany, England, the Netherlands and Belgium also come to celebrate the New Year in Turkey.

52.7 million tourists visited Turkey in 11 months of 2023. The most tourists arrived (in descending order) from Russia, Germany, England, Bulgaria and Iran. Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy noted that Turkey occupies a leading position among the world's leading tourist countries, setting records for the number of tourists and tourism revenues. "Turkey is a country with a rich cultural and natural heritage that attracts millions of tourists from all over the world. We continue to work on developing our tourism potential to offer our guests the best experience and quality of service.", Ersoy noted.

Vakıf bankZıraat bankDenizbankKuveyt turkT rkiye iş bankasıAkbankGaranti bank (for citizens of Ukraine) Depending on the bank, you will be asked to provide the following documents: - Turkish INN- international passport- a document confirming residence in your home country (internal passport, utility bills)- Russian INN (in some cases)- ikamet (residence permit card)- a document confirming registration at the place of residence in Turkey

The 2nd Istanbul Forum "Society 5.0", organized by the Office of Human Resources under the President, was held at the Istanbul Congress Center. Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz, speaking in a speech, shared data on the unemployment rate in the country: "The unemployment rate published by TURKSTAT in October was 8.5%. This is the lowest unemployment rate in the last 11 years. Youth unemployment, seasonally adjusted, decreased by about 5 points in October compared to the same month of the previous year. In our medium-term program, we predicted that the unemployment rate would be 10.1% at the end of the year. The latest data shows that the situation is improving."

Minister of Culture and Tourism of Turkey Mehmet Nuri Ersoy shared on social networks the news that the number of cultural heritage sites under UNESCO protection in Turkey has increased to 30. "Mastery and playing of the mei" (wind musical instrument), "Iftar and related socio-cultural traditions", "The Art of Mother-of-Pearl Inlay" and "The Art of Illumination" were added to the list. "Turkey has become the second country to register the largest number of sites on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list," Ersoy said.

TThe Central Bank of Turkey raised the discount rate from 40% to 42.5% at a meeting on December 21. The regulator is tightening monetary policy for the 7th time as part of the fight against inflation. In November, inflation was 62% year-on-year, the highest in 11 months of 2023. The central bank forecasts a slowdown in inflation to 36% by the end of 2024.

In Istanbul, a landlord who applied to the court for an increase in rent by more than 25% of the amount specified in the contract won the case despite the fact that the 5-year period after which an increase in rent by more than 25% is possible has not yet expired. The decision in favor of the plaintiff was made by the 54th Civil Division of the Istanbul Regional Court of Appeal.

According to Henley Partners, which published the results of the study, 16,300 dollar millionaires live in Istanbul. In total, there are 44.5 thousand people in Turkey with a fortune of $ 1 million or more, of whom 18 people are dollar billionaires. New York took the first place in the ranking with 340 thousand dollar millionaires and 58 billionaires.

Mehmet Kemal Bozai, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Director of European Union Affairs, said that visa applications will be submitted faster in 2024, which will shorten the time for obtaining Schengen visas for Turkish citizens. Bozai said, "Some progress has already been made. For example, if it used to take 3-4 weeks, now in many places the application and appointment process has been reduced to 2 weeks." Bozay said that the Joint Statement on Turkey-EU Relations, prepared by the EU Commission and the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrel, will be an important first step in bilateral relations: "The early implementation of the recommendations contained in the Borrell report will be an important first step in relations between Turkey and the EU. We expect all EU institutions to act quickly and take concrete steps in this direction."

Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, who often visits Turkey and has luxury real estate here, paid a bill of 85 thousand liras at a restaurant located in the historical quarter of Anadolu Hisarı in the Beykoz district of Istanbul.Satisfied with the service, Abramovich also left 175 thousand liras in tips. It is reported that the billionaire came to the restaurant with two friends and ordered several types of meat dishes. Chef Emer Ataysin prepared for the guests adana kebab, yağlı kara kebabs, lamb kebab kyushleme and chicken wings."After dinner, Abramovich and his friends left the establishment, accompanied by an army of bodyguards," Turkish media reported.

The groundbreaking ceremony of the kindergarten named after Hatice Rabia Tunjer took place in Jikjilli. The institution, designed for 12 spacious classrooms, will be built with funds allocated by philanthropist Suleiman Tunger and his family with the support of the Alanya Municipality. The ceremony was attended by the head of the Alanya district Fatih Urkmezer, the mayor of Alanya Adem Murat Yudzhel, the director of the Department of National Education Yusuf Yilmaz, heads of institutions, philanthropist Suleiman Tunjer and his family, as well as residents of the city. Yusuf Yilmaz, speaking at the ceremony, noted: "There are 169 schools and kindergartens in Alanya, 108 of which were built by our philanthropists, who are also building hospitals, mosques and other important social facilities. I would like to take this opportunity to thank them."