Alanya

A Russian tourist died in a car accident in the southeastern resort of Alanya late on May 23, Doğan News Agency has reported.

Marina Demidova, 34, was trying to cross the road in the Avsallar neighborhood of Alanya. 

A car, whose driver was identified only as Mehmet K., hit Demidova before fleeing the scene after the accident.

The number of tourists visiting the Mediterranean resort of Antalya saw a sharp rise in April with a 40 percent increase since the same month in 2016. 

The arrivals from Russia soared 15.5 times during the period, data from the Antalya Governor's Office showed, Doğan News Agency reported on May 2. 

Turkey will increase the duration of visa-free stay for Russian citizens, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said April 23.      

"We are extending the visa-free period for Russians in Turkey from 60 to 90 days," Çavuşoğlu told reporters in the Alanya district of the southern province of Antalya.      

The Gazipaşa-Alanya Airport in the southern province of Antalya has welcomed its first flight arrival from Russia, amid the start of the summer season, the company said in a statement on April 21. 

The Culture and Tourism Ministry is set to propose a significant cut in value-added tax (VAT) on art products, Minister Nabi Avcı has said, noting that his ministry could also receive a greater infusion of funds.

The Mediterranean resort province of Antalya is set to host over 4 million tourists from Russia and Ukraine and experience an increase in the number of arrivals from Israel after a daunting year, according to a top local association. 

Turkey has extended the scope of a $6,000 financial backing program for travel agencies carrying tourists to the country in a bid to enliven the sector, Reuters has reported. 

Half of Russia's holidaymakers have chosen Turkey as their top travel destination in 2017, a report released by the Association of Tour Operators in Russia (ATOR) stated, citing estimates from the country's tour operators and agencies, as reported by state-run Anadolu Agency on Jan. 18. 

The situation in Turkey's Mediterranean province of Antalya is that its tourism is quiet, but its politics is vivid and loud. 

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will pay a working visit to the southern province of Antalya's Alanya district on Dec. 1 in his first visit after the normalization of Russian-Turkish ties following a crisis after a Russian warplane was shot down on Nov. 24, 2015, for allegedly violating Turkish airspace.