A total of 933,195 tourists took to the skies over Turkey in hot air balloons in 2024, marking a 25 percent increase over the previous year and reaching the highest number of tourists flying in a balloon in the country's history, according to data from the Turkish Civil Aviation Directorate (SHGM), quoted by "Hurriyet Daily News", BTA reported.
According to the directorate, Turkish hot air balloon operators carried out 43,283 flights last year, with the main places to which tourists preferred to fly being Cappadocia and Çat in Nevşehir district, Pamukkale in Denizli district, Soganli in Kayseri, Aspendos in Antalya province, Uhlara Valley in Aksaray province and Phrygian Valley in Afyonkarahisar province. The directorate emphasizes that a total of 71 licensed companies operate in the country, with 441 balloons.
The majority of the flights were carried out in Cappadocia, which is known for its fabulous views, also stated by “Hürriyet Daily News“.
For comparison, in 2023, a total of 747,203 tourists flew in a hot air balloon in Turkey, with the number of balloons with which the flights were carried out being 431.