Iranian Tourists Are Coming To Van For The Festival: This Year’s Target Is 1 Million
Taking advantage of the 14-day Nowruz holidays, Iranian tourists started to come to Van. In 2023, 590 thousand Iranians entered the city, and the sector representatives' target for this year is 1 million tourists.
Tourism in Van has started to pick up.
Preparations for the ‘Shopping Fest’ (Shopping Days) festival have been completed in the city.
The festival also aims to promote the historical and cultural richness of the region and contribute to its brand value.
Iranians started to flock
The festival, which will be held to revitalize the local market, opened its doors to visitors between March 15 and April 5.
In response, Iranian tourists mobilized and started flocking to the region.
Target for the festival is 80 thousand tourists
On the other hand, the festival, which will last for 20 days with the arrival of Iranians who take advantage of the 14-day Nowruz holiday, aims to mobilize many sectors such as tourism, food and beverage, transportation and accommodation.
This year, the festival aims to attract 70-80 thousand tourists for the Shopping Fest.
Many activities such as concerts, shows and painting exhibitions are also planned within the scope of shopping days.
“An important festival that keeps its place on Turkey’s agenda”
Necdet Takva, President of Van Chamber of Commerce and Industry, who said that they organized the 7th shopping festival this year, used the following statements:
“I can proudly say that the ‘Shopping Fest’ Van Shopping Festival, which we started in 2015 to keep the daily trade of our city alive, to make a difference in routine trade, to increase our target market diversity, especially in neighboring countries, is an important festival that holds its place on Turkey’s agenda. Of course, within this framework, we have made a serious awareness especially in accessing the Iranian market. We organized the first one in 2015 under the leadership of Van Chamber of Commerce and Industry. In the intervening 3 years, it has turned into a sustainable festival and we have organized many events under the leadership of our chamber.
In 2018, together with the Van Metropolitan Municipality, the Governorship of Van and other stakeholders in Van, the process continued with a more comprehensive, more institutionalized and with the participation of the city. We could not realize it in 2020-2021 due to the pandemic. Also in 2023, we canceled the events of this festival due to the February 6 earthquakes that hurt us all deeply. While 90 thousand people entered Kapıköy Customs Gate in January and February 2023, 149 thousand 544 people entered in the same months of 2024. This shows that this festival is now a market that makes a difference in the Iranian tourism market.”
“Our target is 1 million Iranian tourists by the end of this year”
Stating that the last Shopping Fest was held in 2022, Takva said, “Between March 15 and April 5, 2022, 39 thousand 476 Iranian tourists entered our city in a 20-day period. I estimate that 70-80 thousand tourists will enter during the same periods of this year. One thousand 172 companies participated in 2022. In 2023, the number of Iranian tourists entering from Kapıköy is over 590 thousand. Our goal for this year is for 1 million Iranians to visit our province by the end of this year. I think we will reach our goal this year. Incoming Iranians attach importance to Nowruz. They especially spend their 20-day Nowruz holidays here.”
They will spend 14 days in Van
Iranian tourists coming to Van said that they will participate in festival activities in the city during the 14-day Nowruz holidays and will shop during this period.
