Antalya province is the foremost tourism center, located in the south of Turkey, with its center on the Mediterranean coast. Burdur, Isparta, Konya in the north; east of Karaman, Mersin; There are Muğla provinces in the west. To the south, it is surrounded by the Mediterranean. As a landscape it is called The Turkish "Riviera" with magnificient rivers and marvellous Taurus Mountain Range. The length of the Antalya coast reaches 640 km.
Antalya is the first city that comes to mind about tourism in Turkey. Tourism in Antalya had developed after the 1950s. In 1954, Antalya Airport was opened and put into service. Currently, it serves 20 million people a year with its 3 terminal buildings and two long runaways.
Due to its location, has an advantageous position in terms of health tourism. In addition, congress tourism, wedding tourism, ecotourism, sports tourism and golf tourism are carried out widely in city center and cozy towns like Belek, Kemer, Alanya and Manavgat which has numerous five star hotels. Transportation is provided by high quality roads, air and sea.
Antalya (Attaleia), which means "Home of Attalos", was founded by Attalos. After the end of the Pergamon Kingdom (133 BC), the city remained independent for a while, and then fell into the hands of pirates. B.C. In 77, it was annexed to Roman territory by Commander Servilius Isauricus. B.C. In 67, it became the base of Pompey's navy. Hadrian's visit to Attaleia in 130 AD enabled the development of the city. Attaleia, whose name was seen as the episcopacy center during the Byzantine rule, showed a great development after it was captured by the Turks. It continued to be a settlement during the Anatolian Seljuk State and the Ottoman Empire in the following period. Since the modern city was built by ancient settlement, there are lots of ancient ruins in Antalya. The first of the visible remains is a part of the harbor breakwater, which is described as the old port, and the city wall surrounding the port. The "Hadrian's Gate", which was restored in the part of the walls outside the park, is one of the most beautiful ancient monuments of Antalya. There are numerous ancient settlements like Perge, Termessos, Aspendos, Side, Phaselis, Myra and with a currently flowing river Limyra…
Today, Antalya is one of the most important tourism centers in the world with its natural beauties and historical marvels, and hosts millions of domestic and foreign tourists every year with its coastline stretching from Gazipaşa to Kaş. Antalya has the title of the city with the most blue flags in the world with its 210 blue flag beaches on the coastline.