THE number of British tourists heading through Bodrum Airport fell by a third compared to last year.

Statistics for arrivals through the TAV-operated airport show that between January-September this year, 150,385 Brits flew in compared to 220,074 arrivals over the same period in 2015, a near 32 percent decline.

The data revealed that overall the number of tourists flowing through Bodrum up to September was 397,267, a 43 percent decline on the 704,000 tourists that came in the same period last year.

The overall 43 percent fall – a near one in out of two foreign tourists – mirrored the depressing information coming in from across the country in relation to tourism data.

Other high double digit losses were recorded by Russia, Germany, the Netherlands, France and Belgium.

The only increase in foreign arrivals to Bodrum Airport was Ukraine, Denmark and Lithuania.

Tourism industry leaders have vowed to do all they can to arrest the slump and bring more people to Turkey next year.