Evaluation of the Effect of Festival Tourism on Urban Economy: The Case of Van Shopping Fest

Year 2019, Volume: 6 Issue: 2, 299 - 306, 01.11.2019

Emin Arslan , Hakan Kendir

Abstract

Around the world, thousands of festivals are organized at
micro and macro level. In terms of the participant number, crowded festivals
offer serious contributions to the economies of cities. Since 2015, the
"Van Shopping Fest" is held every year from 15 March to 5 April in
Van. This festival, attracts the attention with creates positive influence on
the urban economy thanks to its high number of participants. The festival date
is planned according to the 25-day of Nevruz holiday in neighboring Iran. In
this way, it was ensured that Van attracted a significant amount of tourists
from Iran, especially by road. While approximately 20.000 Iranian tourists
arrived in Van in 2008, the number of Iranian tourists in 2017 exceeded
400.000. On the other hand, over 60,000 Iranian tourists visited the city
during the Van Shopping Fest in 2018. With this rapid increase in numbers, the sales volumes of
enterprises rised. In addition, new tourism investments in the city and new
business opportunities have begun to occur. From this point of view, the aim of
this study is to examine and evaluate the contribution of festival tourism to
urban economy in Van. SWOT method was used within the scope of this study's
purpose.

Keywords

Festival Tourism, Van, Van Shopping Fest, Urban Economy

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