Van is ready for the Nevruz holiday

Van Culture and Tourism Provincial Director Erol Uslu stated that they are ready to host Iranian tourists who are planning to spend the 13-day Nevruz Holiday in Turkey.

Expressing that Van had completed all the necessary preparations before the 21 March Nevruz Festival, Culture and Tourism Provincial Director Erol Uslu said that they were waiting for the Iranian guests. Stating that all necessary preparations have been completed, especially in the accommodation sector, Uslu said, “When our Iranian guests come, there is no problem about accommodation. Hotels are currently empty. We are waiting for Iranian visitors during Nevruz. There is no disruption to their accommodation."

“I don't think there is an earthquake concern for Van”

Pointing out that the news about an earthquake in Van are unfounded, Uslu said, “The phenomenon called earthquake is a natural disaster. We think that it is not appropriate for a province to suffer some interruptions in the future, especially in terms of tourism, with expressions such as "it could happen, it happened, it will happen". Such disasters can happen not only in Van, but even in provinces that they say will not happen. For this reason, I think it is not a wise idea to talk about this in advance and block the visitors. I don't think there is an earthquake concern for Van. Technical matters are outside of my domain. As the Culture and Tourism Provincial Director, we are waiting for our Iranian guests again as every year during the Nevruz period. At this point, we are taking all the necessary measures to prevent any disruptions, especially in accommodation and other sectors. We are working on this point as well. We want our Iranian guests to spend their holidays in Van during the Nevruz period. Because Iranians know Van's history, nature and places to visit better than we do. If we host thousands, hundreds of thousands of people here every year, this is important because it shows that Van has become a center of attraction.

“We need high-quality tourists rather than lots of tourists”

Emphasizing that over a hundred thousand Iranian tourists came to Van in a 15-20 day period last year, Uslu said, “We want more Iranians to come this year. However, rather than the simultaneous arrival of a large number of visitors, we aim to reach the quality of our service last year by considering both our facilities in the accommodation sector and our infrastructure.

Because it is very important that visitors do not suffer outside. If it weren't for our earthquake victims, we might not have faced such a situation today. Because we could accommodate our Iranian guests in KYK dormitories or guesthouses. Satisfaction in tourism is very important because there is a more challenging number beyond our capacities and there will be a disruption in the quality service we can provide to them.

Tourists to whom we cannot provide good service do not come again, and they do not direct the people around them here. For this reason, we need to reach the level of quality tourists rather than lots of it. I hope we can achieve that this year," he said.