European tourists visiting Iran significantly increased
By Sara Rajabova
The number of Europeans coming to Iran has already increased by 60 percent, despite the fact that sanctions having not yet been lifted.
Iran’s tourism industry expects a boom after the lifting of the international sanctions imposed on the country over its nuclear energy program.
Masoud Soltanifar, the head of Cultural Heritage Organization said since the time President Hassan Rouhani’s cabinet assumed office, western tourists including from EU, U.S., Canada, and Australia, have visited Iran by tour, which are now up 50-60 percent, Mehr news agency reported.
He claimed that in the fiscal year ending March 21, Iran hosted five million travelers, 50 percent of which were religious tourists en route to Mashhad and Qom to see the shrines of Shia sacred figures.
Mashhad is the second most populous city in Iran and the capital of Razavi Khorasan Province in the northeast of the country, close to the borders of Turkmenistan and Afghanistan.
The city is most famous and revered for housing the tomb of Imam Reza, the eighth Shia Imam. Every year, millions of pilgrims visit the Imam Reza shrine to pay tribute.
Soltanifar noted that the remaining 50 percent has been made up predominantly of tourists seeking natural beauties, monuments, and historical places.
Iran – with an ancient history, mix of cultures, different climatic zones, and beautiful nature –is taking measures to boost its tourism sector, which has been neglected after the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Iran is seen as one of the world’s top potential tourist destinations, as it contains a countless number of ancient sites. The country ranks fourth in Asia and first in the Middle East in terms of the number of world heritage sites, with an impressive 17 historic sites that have been added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List. The Islamic Republic has attached considerable significance to its booming tourism industry in recent years.
Soltanifar noted that in the program Vision of Iran 2025, the government is mandated to make necessary policy arrangements to attract 20 million foreign tourists in the next decade, which would provide the country with incomes as high as $25-30 billion.
He also added that accommodation facilities should be established for all incoming tourists with different income levels, either domestic or foreign. “Currently, there is a serious lack of 4- and 5-star hotels which are crucial in attracting foreign tourists. However, in the past two years, the foundations for construction of a number of these types of high-profile hotels have been prepared, with construction of some others to be started within next months,” Soltanifar said.
The World Travel and Tourism Council has forecasted an increase of 6.6 percent in Iran’s tourism industry in 2015.
The WTTC in its recent report titled “Travel & Tourism: ECONOMIC IMPACT 2015 IRAN” assessed the value of Iran’s tourism industry for 2014 at about $7.8 billion.
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Sara Rajabova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on
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