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Pamukkale is expecting Chinese tourists in 2024

In the world-renowned archaeological site of the 'white paradise,' Pamukkale, tourism professionals are anticipating a fruitful year. The number of tourists last year reached 2,200,171, approximately 210,000 more than the previous year, setting a new record and surpassing the visitor record of 2019. Gazi Murat Şen, Vice President of the Turkey Hoteliers Federation (TÜROFED), emphasized that Pamukkale is among the leading attractions for visitors among museums and archaeological sites in Turkey. Şen expressed joy in surpassing the previous year's figures, noting that they set a target of 2.5 million tourists entering 2023, but the earthquake disaster at the beginning of the year had an impact on not achieving this goal. However, he expressed greater optimism for the coming year, stating, 'Our hopes are much higher for the next year.' Şen highlighted that the newly opened Karahayıt Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Hospital would be a significant factor in increasing the number of visitors to Pamukkale. He also mentioned that night-time tourism, starting in Hierapolis Ancient City along with Ephesus, would play a crucial role. He stated, 'Night tourism is a subject our Minister of Culture and Tourism values greatly. Especially during the hot summer months, we cannot guide our guests extensively in the heat, but with the start of night tourism, this effect will come into play, significantly increasing the number of visitors.' Şen reminded that the Ministry of Culture and Tourism allocated approximately 1 billion Turkish liras for excavations in Hierapolis Ancient City. He emphasized that with this funding, both excavation work and certain projects would be realized, further boosting the number of visitors.

The interest of Chinese Tourists in Turkey is increasing

İşler told AA reporter that Turkey, having had a successful year in tourism, is expected to continue its growth in 2024 based on early reservations. Highlighting Turkey's proactive approach in promotion, İşler mentioned that starting early with reservation campaigns strengthens the hand of the tourism industry. According to recent figures, he noted that the German market is leading, the UK market is showing significant improvement, and there is activity in the Dutch, French, and Polish markets as well. İşler, stating that there is a 15% increase in early reservations from China compared to the previous year, expressed: "Before the pandemic, until 2019, around 500,000 Chinese tourists visited Turkey. Later, due to both the pandemic and decisions by the Chinese government restricting the exit of Chinese tourists in some countries, the number decreased. However, the Chinese government recently lifted this decision. Turkey can create a new main market here. If we consider that Germany is a market of around 6 million, Russia is close to that, and the UK is around 2.5-3 million, then Turkish tourism can attract 10 million tourists from the Chinese market alone. Turkey has the chance to obtain 20% of its current tourist number from the Chinese market. The goal of 10 million tourists should not be considered too ambitious. With a population close to 1.5 billion, capturing a share of 10 million tourists is not an unattainable target." "Culture and gastronomy tourism stand out" İşler emphasized that the Chinese show interest in Turkey's cultural and gastronomic tourism areas, which Turkey aims to develop instead of the traditional sun, sea, and sand, indicating that visitors from this country particularly like to visit Istanbul, Cappadocia, Ephesus, Pamukkale, Bergama, Sardis, and Antalya. Stating that Turkish tourism has the ability to increase market diversity rather than relying on one or two main markets, İşler highlighted the crucial role of the Turkey Tourism Promotion and Development Agency (TGA) in promotion and marketing. He continued: "If we focus on the products that the Chinese market really desires, offer good service, and present our beautifully packaged products, Turkey's tourism takes a giant step forward. Here, TGA has a particularly significant role to play. The promotional efforts made in Europe need to be implemented in the Chinese market as well. With strategic planning, it is not impossible for 10 million tourists from China to come to Turkey in the next 5 years." İşler also mentioned that Chinese tourists prefer months outside the high season of summer, and he added that this is valuable in terms of the goal of extending tourism throughout the year. The number of Chinese tourists is rapidly increasing Standing out among countries with high growth potential in the global tourism sector, the number of tourists from China increased from around 28,000 in 2002 to 426,000 in 2019, thanks to Turkey's promotional campaigns. Due to travel restrictions implemented in China during the COVID-19 period, the numbers dropped to around 26,000 in 2021. However, with the removal of restrictions on group travel this year, the number of Chinese tourists rapidly increased, reaching 198,807 from January to October.

The target in Dubai is the Chinese market

Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths, who is responsible for the operation and development of Dubai International Airport, one of the busiest airports in the world, said that the large increase in passenger numbers from China will support the recovery of the aviation sector. Speaking to Xinhua during the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) Global Summit held between Wednesday and Friday in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, Griffiths said, "The first half of 2023 has been great for us. We exceeded the numbers before the pandemic in the first half. We hope to serve approximately 87 million passengers by the end of the year. "This number is approximately 2 million below the pre-pandemic number." At the summit, organized under the theme "Building Bridges to a Sustainable Future" and hosted by the Rwanda Development Board, sector leaders, experts and government representatives came together to discuss how to promote the growth of the sector and its transition to a safer, more resilient, inclusive and sustainable future. Griffiths stated that the increase in passenger numbers was mainly due to the increase in the number of Chinese passengers visiting Dubai, United Arab Emirates. According to the data of Dubai Economy and Tourism Department, 11.1 million accommodation visitors came to Dubai in the January-August period. China, which sent 392,000 tourists to Dubai in the first eight months of 2023, is the 7th largest source market for the city. Regarding new initiatives and incentives for visitors from China, Griffiths said: "The nice thing is that there are always projects being worked on in Dubai. We plan to appeal to a wider range of interests in a way that will appeal to Chinese travellers." The CEO noted that measures to attract Chinese tourists include "a wider range of entertainment options, improved hospitality, increased beach capacity and improvements to airport infrastructure." "We plan to expand existing airports with the expectation of serving approximately 120 million passengers over the next decade, and we believe a significant part of this increase will come from China," Griffiths said.

Pamukkale awaits visitors from China

After the start of the Kovid-19 epidemic, China suspended group tours to foreign countries in March 2020, and allowed these tours to be organized to 78 countries, including Turkey, on August 10, 2023. In Pamukkale, one of the most visited ruins in Turkey by Far Eastern tourists who are interested in cultural tours, tourism professionals have started working to attract Chinese tourists. Gazi Murat Şen, Vice President of the Turkish Hoteliers Federation, stated that the number of tourists coming to Turkey from China reached 426 thousand 344 in 2019, but it decreased to 30 thousand after the Kovid-19 epidemic, and last year, 89 thousand 515 tourists from this country were hosted. Expressing that the issuance of permission for group travels could bring the figures back to their previous level, Şen noted that they found remarkable increases in applications made to travel agencies for Turkey after the bans were lifted. Expressing that the arrival of Chinese tourists can significantly increase the number of visitors in Pamukkale, Şen said: "Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia, China were the Far East countries where we received the most visitors. China was at the forefront of this. With the decrease in the number of Chinese guests, we were already having difficulties in meeting the targets. With the opening of China, in 2024, we will start seeing our Far Eastern guests intensively, especially in Pamukkale and Hierapolis. This is gratifying for us. When we look at the 2019 figures, we can see how important China is. In 2019, more than 426 thousand Chinese visited our country. We hosted about 90 percent of these visitors in Pamukkale and Hierapolis." "Flights should be increased" Şen stated that the Chinese mostly visit Istanbul, Cappadocia and Pamukkale in Turkey, and that they will focus on this market for the next season. Pointing out that flights should be enriched in order to increase the number of tourists coming from this country, Şen expressed that they want scheduled flights from different cities of China to start. Expressing that Turkey's share of the number of Chinese tourists in the world market is below the potential, Şen shared the following views: "The important thing here is transportation. We do not have a chance to bring guests from China except by plane. The more we increase the number of planes, the faster we will reach the Chinese tourist target. Also, flights to Denizli need to be increased. Tourists coming to Istanbul prefer to come to Denizli by plane rather than by land. If we can increase the flights between Denizli and Istanbul, we can host more Chinese guests in Denizli."

Türkiye seeks to lure Chinese tourists, homebuyers

Türkiye is hoping to lure potential homebuyers from China and more Chinese tourists this year as Beijing relaxed travel rules after three years. Even before COVID-19 hit the world, tourist inflow from China to Türkiye had increased. People from the tourism industry expect more Chinese tourists starting from April, while Chinese travelers are already making reservations in Türkiye for the Chinese New Year later this month. The most favorite destinations of Chinese holidaymakers are Cappadocia and Istanbul. Experts also anticipate that the increased tourist inflow from China will also give a boost to the local property and housing market, while some Chinese companies are also looking for locations for investments. Before the pandemic, some 500,000 Chinese tourists visited Türkiye in 2019, up from around 400,000 in the previous year. Back in 2004, Türkiye attracted only 35,000 Chinese holidaymakers, and the 100,000-mark was surpassed in 2012, according to data from the Culture and Tourism Ministry. High-spending Chinese tourists travel to different locations in the country, including the western province of Çanakkale, the southwestern province of Denizli’s Pamukkale, known for its mineral-rich thermal waters and white travertine terraces, the northwestern province of Bursa and the district of Safranbolu, which is on the UNESCO World Heritage List. “Hotels have started to receive reservations from Chinese tourists, particularly for the [Chinese] New Year holiday, which lasts some eight to 10 days. The main problem is that there are not enough flights,” said Teyfik Ölmez, the president of the Cappadocia Touristic Hoteliers and Operators’ Association (KAPTİD). He recalled that there were flights 21 weekly flights before the pandemic. Property investments Chinese people buy properties in Türkiye mostly for obtaining Turkish citizenship, which allows them to undertake investments in the U.S , said Bayram Tekçe from the Real Estate International Promotion Association (GİGDER), noting that Chinese people bought $52 billion worth of real estate across the globe in 2016. Chinese investors have shown strong interest in buying properties in Türkiye in the past years, according to Hakan Bucak, board chair of MARS. The pandemic put a break on property sales to the Chinese, but sales are likely to pick up after the COVID-related restrictions are relaxed now, Bucak said. Companies will probably hold more tours for potential Chinese homebuyers to promote their real estate projects, Bucak noted, adding that he expects well-off Chinese to increase their purchase of properties in Türkiye. Source: Hürriyet Daily

#Chinese Tourists

Pamukkale is expecting Chinese tourists in 2024

The interest of Chinese Tourists in Turkey is increasing

The target in Dubai is the Chinese market

Pamukkale awaits visitors from China

Türkiye seeks to lure Chinese tourists, homebuyers