ANKARA, Sept. 22 (Xinhua) -- A total of 33.4 million foreign tourists visited Türkiye between January and August, up by 13.95 percent from the previous year, showed statistics released by the Culture and Tourism Ministry on Friday.

Istanbul, the country's cultural and financial center, was the most popular tourist destination, attracting 11.5 million visitors in the first eight months of this year, according to the ministry.

The Mediterranean province of Antalya, known for its long, sunny beaches, ranked second with 10.2 million tourists.

Meanwhile, the northwestern border province of Edirne welcomed 3.2 million visitors, mainly from neighboring Greece and Bulgaria.

In the first eight months, Russia, Germany and Britain topped the list of countries that sent the most tourists to Türkiye, the ministry said.

June, July and August are considered the most popular tourism months in Türkiye.

The country received 51.4 million tourists in 2022, earning more than 46 billion U.S. dollars of revenue.