Following a sharp drop in travel to Turkey, Iranian tourists who intended to visit the neighboring country have found a new holiday destination in Maku in West Azarbaijan Province. Chief executive of Maku Free Zone, Hossein Forouzan, said the city is the perfect place for tourists traveling to Turkey to shop till they drop, the Persian daily Donya-e-Eqtesad reported. “Availability of high-quality goods at reasonable prices and restrictions on low-quality Chinese imports have made Maku a popular destination for tourists who love shopping,” he said. Last week, Iran’s Foreign Ministry issued an advisory warning Iranians to avoid land travel to neighboring Turkey, after an Iranian bus was attacked by gunmen. The attack was preceded by two bomb blasts on a railroad in eastern Turkey, including the Tehran-Ankara railroad on August 7. According to Forouzan, Maku hosts between 2,000 and 2,500 tourists every day. While some visit the city for a day, most opt to stay for a few days. Established in 2010, Maku Free Zone is situated 22 km from the Turkish border.
