Armenian, Turkish Business Owners to Build 5-Star Hotel

Business owners from Van and the Armenian capital Yerevan have decided to establish a five-star hotel on the shores of Lake Van in an initiative spearheaded by the Van Chamber of Commerce and Industry, or VATSO, reports the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review.

Speaking to the Hürriyet, VATSO Chair Zahir Kandaşoğlu requested support from Armenia and the local Armenian diaspora. 

“You support us and we shall prepare the climate in which the language of dialogue will flourish,” he said.

The organization has a department devoted to relations and trade with Armenia. “We meet together frequently both in Turkey and Armenia,” Kandaşoğlu said. “The eastern provinces of Turkey have serious economic problems and a main reason is the closed border with Armenia. 

“Why shouldn’t we do our business freely? Why should we have to spend 48 hours [to reach Armenia] via Georgia, while the distance is only one-and-a-half hours?”

Kandaşoğlu said that businessmen from the city have been discussing ways of cooperating with Armenian businessmen.

Business figures from the eastern city could import minerals and rock from Armenia while exporting meat and investing in construction, he said. 

“There are lots of things to do.”