The title of European Capital of Culture, which was Istanbul in 2010, did not bear fruit in terms of attracting foreign tourists, says the French “Les Echos”. Their number even decreased by 7.31% compared to last year.

“While the number of foreign tourists visiting Turkey rose by 5.23%, it dropped from 7.31%, to 6.96 million in Istanbul,” said the chairman of Federation of Turkish Hoteliers (TÜROFED).