KIEV, March 12 (Xinhua) -- A total of 14.6 million foreign tourists visited Ukraine in 2017, up 7.4 percent from a year earlier, local media reported Monday, citing a senior industry official.
Ivan Liptuga, head of the National Tourism Organization, told local reporters that the number of tourist arrivals in Ukraine in 2017 rose for the third year in a row.
Traditionally, the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, such as Moldova, Belarus and Russia, were the largest source of visitors to Ukraine last year, Liptuga said, adding that the number of vacationers from Turkey and Israel has increased at the fastest pace in 2017.
The Ukrainian government will strive to attract tourists from other parts of the world this year by popularizing Ukraine's image abroad, Liptuga said.
In 2016, Ukraine received about 13.6 million foreign visitors, up 5.6 percent year-on-year.
