Turkish companies plan package tours to Armenia in August

PanARMENIAN.Net - A joint enterprise between two Turkish-based tourism companies is planning to organize special package tours from Turkey to Armenia in August, Hürriyet Daily News reported.

“The lack of recognition between the two peoples has resulted in reservations about traveling to each other’s countries for both Armenians and Turks. Turkish tourists had been traveling to Armenia through Georgia until a couple of years ago, but now the situation has changed,” Dikran Altun, the owner of Tower Turizm, said.

Altun’s Tower Turizm will be partnering with Tüten Turizm to launch the package tours to Armenia, which are made possible by the regular scheduled flights between the two companies.

“Unfortunately our people do not know each other – hence their hesitation to travel,” Altun said, adding that Turkish and Armenian tourists set to visit each others’ countries for the first time always ask whether it is safe to travel.

Fifteen people have already made reservations for the tour, according to Harutyan Demir, one of Tüten Turizm’s co-owners.

“I was not expecting a large burst of demand anyway; interest will grow bit by bit,” Demir said.

Aside from Istanbul Armenians, the company has also sent some Turkish tourists to Yerevan in the past two years, though they were few in number, according to Demir. This year’s all-inclusive package trip will cost between 960 and 1,200 euros.

“Passengers predominantly fly from Armenia to Turkey, but increasing numbers of business people, journalists and intellectuals have also been taking the flight from Turkey to Armenia every year,” he said. “My greatest desire is to see the re-establishment of relations and dialogue between the two countries. It is of great significance for me to see Turkish Airlines starting flights to Yerevan.”