# İsa Berge

Iranian tourists made Van tradesmen happy

The intensity of Iranian tourists in Van, which started with Nevruz and still continues, made the tradesmen happy. Iranian tourists who come to Van by taking advantage of every holiday opportunity make a significant contribution to the city's economy. Iranian tourists, who shop during the day and enjoy their holiday in entertainment centers in the evening, also make the shopkeepers happy. The occupancy rate of hotels in Van, which was visited by approximately 500 thousand tourists in the first 9 months of this year, reached 90 percent. Expressing their satisfaction with the visits of Iranian tourists to Van, tourism professionals said that they wanted this to extend over 12 months. Emphasizing that the visit of Iranians is a lifeline especially for tradesmen, Van Union of Chambers of Tradesmen and Craftsmen (Van ESOB) President İsa Berge said, “There has been a density of Iranian guests in our city for years. Approximately 11 thousand tourists entered Van through Kapıköy Border Gate 2 days ago. When we look at the occupancy rate of hotels in Van, there is a great tourism activity in Van. In addition, Van has an ongoing tourism potential throughout the region. There is also a great flow of guests from Hakkari, Bitlis, Ağrı and Diyarbakır provinces. Van Lake Basin has become a tourism city that constantly feeds itself and contains tourism potential within itself. Approximately half a million people flock to Van every year. They say the tourism season is over, but the tourism season is not over in Van. Thank God, even now, when we look at our avenues, streets, restaurants, cafes and coastlines, we can see our Iranian guests. In this sense, Van is now ready not only for summer tourism but also for winter tourism. This is what we want from our local people. Our aim is to accommodate our guests by being devoted to them and adopting a good price policy. I believe that our Van people are sensitive in this sense. Our tradesmen and craftsmen have also renewed themselves especially in this sense. When we look at the posters and the writings on the windows, they especially appeal to the guests with writings in Persian, English and Turkish. “We now see ourselves as a city ready for all tourism in Turkey.” Underlining that tourism is a sector that touches all sectors, Berge said, “Tourism touches all sectors from A to Z. It touches the accommodation owner, the marketer, the clothing seller and the greengrocer. Let's embrace our guests with the understanding of guests, not with the understanding of tourists. Especially with the completion of the modernization works at the Kapıköy Border Gate and the opening of the gate, there is a great economic contribution to the city. You cannot find this much potential in any of the surrounding provinces. We owe this to Iran and the Iranian border. Iran is indispensable for us. At this point, I would like to thank the people of Van as well as our tradesmen and craftsmen.” Van tradesmen, on the other hand, stated that Iranian tourists contribute greatly to the city's economy and reiterated that they hope this will spread over 12 months.