Known for its fairy chimneys and hot air balloon rides, Cappadocia, one of the most popular tourist destinations in Türkiye, is expecting to welcome a record number of visitors by the year-end, particularly owing to tourists arriving from China, which allows package tour arrangements.
Listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1985, the famed region in central Türkiye draws tourists from every corner of the globe with its natural rock formations, underground settlements, rock-cut historical monasteries, boutique hotels and hot air balloon tours.
According to data from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, in the period from January to September of last year, museums and archaeological sites in Cappadocia hosted some 2,544,909 visitors, while 3,053,827 visitors were hosted in the sites in the same period this year.
Industry representatives predict that a new record in number of visitors could be achieved, thus surpassing the record of 4,192,070 visitors set in 2022.
In his recent interview with Anadolu Agency (AA), Yakup Dinler, the general secretary of the Turkish Hoteliers Federation (TÜROFED), stated that the interest of both domestic and foreign tourists in Cappadocia has been increasing yearly.
Noting that tourism in the region gained momentum following the COVID-19 pandemic and that arrivals of tourists from Latin America contributed to this end, Dinler expressed the belief that many businesses will achieve their goals by the end of the year.
"We host tourists from every country in Capadoccia. There is growth in some markets despite declines in others. There have been new investments in the region, (while) domestic and regional brands work on renewing and developing themselves based on the needs of the arriving tourists," Dinler explained.
Dinler also mentioned that China’s approval of opening package tours is expected to boost tourism in the last three months of the year.
"If we can reach approximately 50,000 Chinese visitors and revise the year-end figures, we can have an even better closing of the year," Dinler said.
He also conveyed the aim of reaching 350,000 visits from China in the upcoming year, achieved already in 2019, stating they believe this will contribute significantly to regional tourism along with other tourists from the Far East.
Mustafa Durmaz, the president of the Göreme Tourism Development Cooperative, stated that almost all tourists visiting the region also visit the town of Göreme. He mentioned that the tourism industry is trying to meet the increasing demand every year.