The number of Iranians visiting Turkey is increasing year-on-year due to improved relationships, promotional marketing and paying special attention towards what their visitors want by ensuring all of their needs are met.
Farid Javaherzadeh, the President of Iranian Specific Ecotourism, explained that Turkey has been the preferred choice by Iranians for vacations and public holidays and is expected to welcome over six million people in the next 12 months.
Hotel occupancy in many Turkish cities has increased due to Iranians choosing to visit Turkey. The eastern province of Van has proved most popular with hotel occupancy rates standing at close to 100% and the added shopping is a well-received lifeline for local shops and traders.
Van is located close to the border of Iran, and due to historic monuments and natural wonders that it offers, it is very popular with Iranian holidaymakers during national holiday periods. Thanks to the friendly welcome, convenient holiday options and agreements, the number of tourists from Iran is reported to be five million and this figure is expected to continually increase in years to come.
Van recently held a fair in the city that was visited by Javaherzadeh, in which he confirmed how important Turkey is to Iranian tourists. He continued by saying that tourists want the relationship between Turkey and Iran to improve further: “Both the fact that Turkey is a Muslim country and the love of the Iranian people for Turkey increase the number of tourists every year. We anticipate that the number of tourists coming to Turkey will increase by 20% and reach 6.2 million by 2020.”
Javaherzadeh noted that Van is a new holiday spot for Iranians to visit, as they usually prefer the seaside and coastal areas of Turkey. Javaherzadeh continued by saying: “Our people do not know much about Van’s historical, natural and touristic richness. For this reason, both we and Turkey need to promote Van very well.” Javaherzadeh went on to state how Turkish people should also visit Iran as it offers ancient history.
A representative from Raja Railway Transport Company told the AA that tourist numbers would certainly increase due to the Tehran-Ankara and the Tehran-Van trains running again between Turkey and Iran.
“We had talks with tourism companies in Van. We talked about taking Iranian tourists to other cities. We will have services to Istanbul. There are many beautiful places and many beautiful cities in Turkey. We will bring as many passengers to Turkey as we can in the coming period.”
Asedi Ibrahim from the Iranian Tourism Congress explained that the special bond, brotherhood and friendship the two countries share are reasons why so many Iranian holidaymakers choose Turkey. Ibrahim explained how Iran shared the same historical past as Turkey and when Iranian tourists visit Turkey, they enjoy visiting all of the historical sites it has to offer.
An Iranian who visited Van with his family explained why they visit every year: “We love it here in Turkey. We shop here and meet our needs. People are very good and pay close attention to us.”