Turkey welcomed just over seven per cent more tourists in January than it did one year ago, with Britons among the top ten nationalities gracing its shores, new figures from the Turkish Board of Statistics show.

The total influx of visitors amounted to 714,425 people over the month, with German nationals the most enthusiastic Turkey-lovers followed by Bulgarians, Russians, and Georgians.

The country attracted guests from diverse regions, with Britain and France figuring in the top ten visiting nationalities alongside Iran and Syria. Although air access to Turkey became significantly more popular, with 11 per cent more tourists arriving by plane, sea travel enjoyed a surge of 18.3 per cent as burgeoning numbers of tourists chose to drop anchor from the Mediterranean, Black or Aegean Seas.

The improved profile of the country''s tourist industry, particularly among British visitors, may maximise the attractiveness of the Turkish property market to investors seeking to soak up some of the unmet demand for holiday residences.