Palandöken Mountain

Erzurum, a winter wonderland in eastern Turkey, hosted more than 1.3 million tourists last year, provincial authorities said on Feb. 13.

The province achieved its million-tourist target set last year with its historical sites, hot springs, and ski resorts.

Erzurum's ski resort on the slopes of Mount Palandöken is a majestic wintry hinterland.

On the roof of Erzurum, which is one of the world's largest settlements that sit more than 2,000 meters above sea level, the fairy tale setting of Palandöken expects a million tourists within the next five years. An investment of 45 million Turkish Liras has totally changed Palandöken's appearance.

A Turkish ski resort on the slopes of Mount Palandöken in eastern Erzurum province, one of the most frigid areas in the country, is expecting to host 1 million tourists during the next winter season.

One of Turkey's most important winter tourism centers, Palandöken is becoming increasingly popular as it hosts aficionados of mountain skiing, which brings together mountaineering and skiing. 

Mount Palandöken in the eastern province of Erzurum has become one of the top destinations of winter tourism, with hotel occupancy rate hitting 90 percent, according to Demirören News Agency.

When we invited more than 200 journalists from at least three dozen countries to the eastern province of Erzurum in 2012 for the yearly meeting of the Ski Club of International Journalists (SCIJ), I was a bit concerned about whether our colleagues would truly enjoy skiing in Turkey.

Traditional "New Year baskets," gift packages of beverages and snacks sold at supermarkets during the last weeks of the year, will not be permitted to include alcoholic drinks this year, according to a ruling from Turkey's alcohol and tobacco regulator. 

The decision, made public in the Official Gazette on Nov. 5, has triggered contrasting reactions from the sector. 

Two workers were injured when they were trapped by a landslide which struck a ski-jumping complex in the eastern province of Erzurum on July 6, during the reconstruction of the complex about a year after a collapse in the same area. 

Some 600,000 couples are expected to get married this wedding season and spend around 15 billion Turkish Liras, said Bendevi Palandöken, head of the Confederation of Turkish Craftsmen and Tradesmen (TESK), in a statement today. 

The number of winter tourists in Turkey has doubled over the last decade, increasing from 2.7 million in 2004 to 4.8 million this year, but more investments are needed to realize the country's potential in the sector, said the latest Winter Tourism report of the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies (TÜRSAB).