BusinessLocal Turkiye

The target for the new year in Pamukkale is a record in tourism

Tourism professionals believe that they will have a good year in Pamukkale, the “white paradise” in Denizli, one of Turkiye’s favorite tourism centers. The number of tourists visiting the world-famous ruins was recorded as 2 million 200 thousand 171 in 2023.

While the number of tourists increased by 209 thousand 385 compared to the previous year, it fell behind the record-breaking year of 2019 with 2 million 580 thousand 245 visitors.

Gazi Murat Sen, Vice President of the Turkish Hoteliers Federation (TUROFED), emphasized that Pamukkale is one of the places that attract visitors among the museums and ruins in Turkiye.

Stating that it was pleasing that they exceeded the previous year’s figures, Sen reminded that they set a target of 2 million 500 thousand tourists when entering 2023 and said, “The earthquake disaster we experienced at the beginning of the year was effective in this not being realized, but our hopes for next year are much higher.”

Hospital, night museum and projects will increase the number of tourists

Stating that the Karahayıt Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Hospital, which came into service, will be one of the important factors that will increase the number of visitors in Pamukkale, Sen said:

“In addition, night museums are starting in the Ancient City of Hierapolis, along with Ephesus. It is an issue that our Minister of Culture and Tourism attaches great importance to. Especially in the summer months, we cannot take our guests around in very hot weather, but with the start of night museums, this effect will also come into play. This will significantly increase the number of visitors.”

Reminding that the Ministry of Culture and Tourism has allocated a budget of approximately ₺1 billion for the excavations in the Ancient City of Hierapolis, Sen stated that with this resource, both excavations and some projects will be implemented, which will increase the number of visitors.

“Target is 3 million visitors”

Stating that they expect this year to be the “Year of Pamukkale”, Sen said, “Our main goal is to reach 3 million visitors. We had already exceeded 2 million 500 thousand visitors in 2019. First of all, we will exceed 2019. After that, we will quickly reach the target of 3 million.”

500 thousand Chinese tourists are expected to come to Pamukkale

Emphasizing that visitors from the Far East and South American countries are particularly interested in Pamukkale, Sen said:

“Our Chinese guests could not visit Pamukkale in 2023. Then, Chinese airspace was closed and travel abroad was prohibited, but it will open in 2024. Turkish Airlines also bought large planes that can fly at long range. They will also come into play. With their involvement, our Chinese guests will be very interested in Pamukkale, especially by flying to more than just a few points in China. Around 450 thousand Chinese guests visited our country in 2019. We expect around 600 thousand Chinese guests to come to our country in 2024, and at least 500 thousand of them will visit Pamukkale. We can say that 2024 will be the brightest year for both Turkish and Pamukkale tourism if there are no different impacts.”

Source: Trthaber / Prepared by Irem Yildiz

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