Hot air balloon tourism in Turkey broke an all-time record in 2024, with more than 933,000 tourists taking a balloon tour over the landscapes of seven tourist regions where this type of tours are authorised.
According to data compiled by the Turkish General Directorate of Civil Aviation (SHGM) and published in the Turkish media, a total of 933,195 tourists flew in balloons over seven regions of Turkey: Cappadocia and Çat (Nevşehir province), Pamukkale (Denizli), Soğanlı (Kayseri), Aspendos (Antalya), the Ihlara Valley (Aksaray) and the Phrygian Valley (Afyonkarahisar).
In total, throughout 2024, 43,283 balloon flights were made over these regions by 71 licensed companies using 441 hot air balloons. These figures represent the highest record in the history of the country, with an increase of 25% in balloon passengers compared to the previous year (2023), when 747,203 tourists took tours on board 431 hot air balloons.
Cappadocia is still, naturally, the region where most tourist tours of this kind take place; but since an initiative was announced in 2018 to expand hot-air balloon flights for tourists to other provinces in Turkey, this type of tourism has been very successful and the number of users is growing every year.
More inspections to prevent balloon accidents
To guarantee the safety of this type of operations and avoid accidents, in 2024 the SHGM carried out a total of 348 surprise inspections to pilots of hot air balloons, carrying out alcohol and drug tests; in addition, last year 27 pre-flight inspections and 585 control flights were carried out. At the end of 2024 there were 387 licensed balloon pilots across the country.
As well as being an internationally famous destination for hot-air balloon tourism, Turkey has also become a manufacturer of hot-air balloons for both the domestic market and for other countries, currently exporting to Egypt, Rwanda, Ghana, Azerbaijan, Qatar, South Korea, Jordan, Mexico and Japan, among others.
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Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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