The country only effectively reopened to Brits from 22 September, with its removal from the UK government’s red list and easing of PCR testing requirements on 1 October.

The Turkish Tourism Board said the figures – which cover up to 30 November 2021 – indicated a positive outlook for the coming year, coupled with reports from UK operators of “strong levels of forward bookings” for summer.

That optimism is supported by increased air links between the UK and Turkey in 2022 – with services from 17 British airports to destinations including Antalya, Bodrum, Dalaman, Izmir and Istanbul.

Turkey’s Safe Tourism certification programme, which inspects hotels and tourist facilities to make sure they are Covid compliant, has grown to certify almost 12,000 buildings and companies.

The scheme has also been expanded to make the accreditation compulsory for accommodation facilities with 30 or more rooms.

Meanwhile, Turkish carrier Corendon Airlines has reported that sales in the first week of January “exceeded expectations”, following the launch of its summer 2022 campaign.

Almost a quarter of the airline’s summer schedule has now been sold. 

The carrier has more than 500,000 seats on sale for the summer on 16 routes, with regional flying from Glasgow, Manchester, Newcastle, Birmingham, and Gatwick to Turkey and Greece.