The number of tourists visiting Pamukkale, one of the major attractions in Türkiye, recognized for its thermal springs, rose by approximately 12% in the first eight months of the year compared to the same period last year, reaching 1.7 million.
Pamukkale, which offers visitors a unique experience with its white travertines, the ancient city of Hierapolis and Cleopatra's Pool, continues to attract visitors from all over the world.
With the introduction of night museum tours, tourists are given a chance to explore further and enjoy the unique beauty of the UNESCO World Heritage site and consequently, the number of visitors to the site has increased.
Tourists can enjoy swimming in the ancient pool located within the ancient city, where the water temperature remains 36 degrees Celsius (96.8 degrees Fahrenheit) year-round.
Some 1.51 million vacationers visited Pamukkale in the western province of Denizli in the January-August period of 2023. In the same period this year, the number of visitors surged by approximately 12% to 1.7 million.
Gazi Murat Şen, vice president of the Turkish Hoteliers Federation (TÜROFED), evaluated the region's tourism potential in an interview with Anadolu Agency (AA), underscoring that its appeal is growing rapidly.
Şen stated that 1.7 million people visited Pamukkale in the first eight months of the year.
"When we look at the entries through the agencies, we see a number that has increased from 480,000 to 530,000. This shows that foreigners are showing interest in Pamukkale and that this number is increasing," he said.
Furthermore, he also mentioned that they expect around 2.9 million people to visit Pamukkale by the end of the year while attributing the increase in figures to the night museum tours.
"At the beginning of the season, we aimed to host approximately 3 million domestic and foreign visitors in Pamukkale. Even if we don't reach this target, we will have hosted around 2.9 million visitors in Pamukkale this year," said Şen.
"Night museum tours have been very effective this year."
"We expect that night museum tours will be much more in demand next year with the promotions, especially after the announcements made to the agencies, which we expect will lead to more visits to Pamukkale at night," he explained.
He also believed that the newly opened physical therapy and rehabilitation hospital in the Karahayıt neighborhood would contribute to a further increase in the number of visitors to Pamukkale, especially with patients coming during the winter months.
