Azerbaijan, Baku, Oct. 23 / Trend, R. Hafizoglu /
The number of foreign tourists visiting Turkey will reach 38 million by late 2013, head of the Turkish Tourism Association Osman Ayik said today, Hurriyet newspaper reported.
According to him, the tourist flow is expected to be increased by eight per cent in 2013 compared to the same period last year.
He also stressed that Antalya is the most frequently visited spot by tourists among the Turkish cities registering 10 million.
Turkey annually loses more than $10 billion because of illegal tourism, the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies said earlier.
According to the association, tax evasion worth $15 billion takes place in Turkey every year resulting in a weakening of the economy.
The association also reported that at present, illegal tourism is well developed in almost all regions of Turkey where unregistered tour firms operate.
According to the official statistics, Turkey's income from tourism increased by $1.6 billion reaching $5.8 billion in January -July 2013, compared to the same period of 2012. Tourism expenditure in the reporting period increased by $1 billion and amounted to $1.7 billion.