Chinese tourists flock to Fethiye for Babadağ paragliding during golden week

Chinese tourists are showing strong interest in paragliding flights at Babadağ in Muğla's Fethiye district during their country's National Day holiday period. Tourists visiting Türkiye during China's 'Golden Week' holiday, observed from Oct. 1 to 7, are heading to Babadağ, which stands at 1,965 meters in the Ölüdeniz neighborhood, to enjoy paragliding flights. Taking off from the runways with pilots, the tourists watch the scenery of Ölüdeniz from a bird's-eye view. Zafer Şekerci, a board member of the Ölüdeniz Paragliding Pilots Cooperative, said Fethiye and Ölüdeniz are among the leading centers for paragliding. Noting a recent increase in Chinese tourists, Şekerci said, 'We can say that one out of every three people paragliding from Babadağ is Chinese. Every day, the number of Chinese tourists is increasing.' Şekerci also said the upcoming International Ölüdeniz Air Games Festival would contribute to the number of flights and to tourism in the region. Stating that safety measures are in place for the flights, Şekerci invited those who want to try paragliding to visit Ölüdeniz. Chinese tourist Jiayi Sahan, who tried paragliding for the first time, said the area is one of the world's major paragliding centers and described the activity as safe and enjoyable. Another Chinese tourist, Cai Xiaogian, said he liked the scenery in Fethiye and would be flying for the second time.