Turkey's travertine paradise Pamukkale welcomed 2.5 million local and foreign tourists in the January-November period.

Located in the central Aegean province of Denizli, Pamukkale enjoys global fame for its travertines, ancient ruins and healing waters. With an increase in the number of visitors, the city has had a golden year in 2019.

It was the fourth-most visited site in Turkey last year. According to the Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism data, a total of 139,500 tourists visited Pamukkale in November, significantly up from 99,520 last year in the same month.

Year-round visitors have enjoyed the province's natural beauties and ancient history, dating back to more than 2,000 years. They walked on white travertines, sought cures in thermal waters and enjoyed the natural beauties with hot air balloon tours and swam in the ancient Cleopatra Pool. A total of 156,123 tourists enjoyed hot air balloon tours, according to the Anadolu Agency (AA).

The Turkish Travel Agencies Association's (TÜRSAB) Pamukkale Regional Chairman Turan Köseoğlu said yesterday that the region has seen a remarkable rise in the number of visitors this year.

"In 2012, Pamukkale welcomed 1.6 million local and foreign tourists and we are expecting to reach 2.6 million at the end of this year," Köseoğlu said.

In 2018, the region hosted 2.18 million local and foreign visitors, according to the provincial tourism directorate's data.