Businesses in Van pinning hopes on flights from Tehran

VAN

Businesses in the eastern province of Van are expecting direct flights from Iran’s capital Tehran to the city will boost the local economy.

The first flight from Tehran arrived in Ferit Melen airport on Feb. 4. The plane belonging to a private Iranian airline brought in 78 tour operators to the province, which borders the neighboring country.

Before the pandemic broke out, Van was a popular destination for Iranian travelers. In March 2020, at the height of the pandemic, the Kapıköy border crossing was closed only to partially open one year later. In October last year, the crossing gate became fully operational and Iranian tourists once again started to visit the Turkish province.

Businessowners are hopeful that the flights will lure more Iranian tourists to the province.

“Thanks to the Iranian visitors, the occupancy rate at the hotels in Van is quite high right now. Before the pandemic Iranian tourist used to come in large numbers. Businesses here suffered a great deal when the border crossing closed at the height of the pandemic. But I can say we now see pre-pandemic levels again,” said Okan Yıldırımçakar who is in the tourism business.

The flights between Tehran and Van will be held twice a week, and those will be part of a package tour for a three-day and four-night stay, according to Cevdet Gökçe from the eastern Anatolian chapter of the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies (TÜRSAB).

Iranians chose to visit Van because of its location, said Cafer Babazade, an Iranian who works in the tourism industry.

“People from every income group can easily visit Van. Prices here are affordable. The nature and historic sites and entertainment lure Iranians to the city. They spend three or four days there, shopping, traveling around and enjoy food,” he said.

In 2021, 54,000 foreigners visited Van, according to data from the Culture and Tourism Ministry.

Not only Van, but other parts of Turkey are also favorite destinations among Iranian holidaymakers.

Last year, nearly 1.2 million Iranians visited the country, which accounted for around 5 percent of all foreign tourist arrivals in Turkey. In 2020, however, the number of Iranian visitors dropped to 386,000. In 2019, more than 2.1 million Iranians vacationed in Turkey.