Tourists from both home and abroad have already started to pack their suitcases to enjoy the sweeping view of Mt. Palandöken in eastern Erzurum province for a ski holiday. Located at an altitude of 1,890 meters, Mt. Palandöken, one of most popular winter tourism destinations in Turkey because of its natural ski tracks, is already packed. Almost all of its rooms have been booked after the region welcomed the winter season on Nov. 30 with an early snowfall.Hosting thousands of domestic and international tourists every year during winter, the hotels in Palandöken will continue to accept guests for four months. Tourism professionals are happy that hotels in Palandöken have already reached a 90 percent occupancy rate.This year, many of the bookings have come from Russian tourists. Tourism professionals and hotel managers in Palandöken, which is the only ski resort that allows skiing at night in Turkey, are hopeful about this season. Last year the hotel occupancy rate was around 60 percent.Ömer Akca, who works as a manager at one of the hotels in the region, said the hotels have undertaken artificial snow reinforcement on ski tracks prior to the season opening. "Snow, ski tracks, weather, reservations and hotels are very nice. It is easy to access Palandöken. We invite our guests here and hope that they will have a beautiful holiday. We have high hopes for skiing this year as is evident with the number of reservation we have received," he said.Most of the ski facilities undergo maintenance before the season starts. As the ski tracks are lit at night, it is possible to ski from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. In Palandöken, 100 days out of the 120-day winter season are sunny, and the facilities are of high quality. The airport and the city center are quite close to the ski resorts as well.Aside from Russian guests, ski enthusiasts and families from Azerbaijan, Iran and some European countries have chosen Palandöken for a winter holiday.