Tourism Helps Promote Economic Turnabout

Tehran, Aug 3, IRNA - President Hassan Rouhani’s administration made foreign policy changes and helped ease Western sanctions, which led to a rise in the number of tourists visiting Iran, noted an English-language paper. Travel and tourism industry is one of the fastest-growing industries with a global economic turnover of around $6.5 trillion, added ˈIran Dailyˈ in its Opinion column (Domestic Economy Pg.) published Sunday. In 2012, the number of tourists travelling worldwide hit a record one billion. Based on statistics of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), 2-6 direct jobs and 9-15 indirect jobs are created by the arrival of each tourist. The organization also predicted that the weakest countries in terms of tourism will earn over $20 billion by 2020, noted the paper. The reason behind the decline in domestic tourism is rooted in the performance of Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization (ICHHTO) during the previous Iranian administration. ICHHTO became a “political backyard” and fell victim to political disputes in the previous administration of ex-president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The presence of politicians in the organization and negligence of tourism added to the decline. In addition, unreliable statistics caused people to distrust the body. This made many politicians, parliamentarians and religious authorities oppose the organization. Now, however, the new administration is taking steps to attract tourists by improving the country’s international image and to bring in much-needed foreign currency. Even during his presidential campaign, President Rouhani announced that tourism is one of the influential sectors for generating employment and boosting the economy. “In case Iran attracts 10 million tourists annually, the country will earn $13.6b and create four million jobs,” he said. Statistics show that about 4.5 million foreign tourists visited Iran in the last Iranian year (ended March 20, 2014), of whom 2.5 million had come for pilgrimage. Historical and religious sites, attractive natural landscapes, internal security, advanced medical facilities and low costs of treatment have made Iran one of the attractive tourism hubs. Iran earned $5b, which is expected to reach $25b by attracting 20 million tourists by 2025. Although Iran has witnessed an increasing number of tourists, there is no precise source to assess the revenues earned by the industry. This is while tourism revenues can turn around the country’s economy. Each tourist arrival to Iran not only brings in at least $1,000 into the country, but also helps change the negative image of Iranians in the world. In order to attract more tourists, cities with high tourism capabilities must receive considerable attention. Construction of hotels and accommodations is the first step to attract them. Turkey’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism points to a boom in Iranian tourists, whose number increased fivefold in the first half of 2014, compared to that of last year. Culturally and geographically closer to Iran, Turkey is one of the successful countries in the field with over $32 billion in annual tourism revenues. Based on the ministry’s reports, Turkey hosts 1.5 million Iranian tourists annually, while total tourist arrival to Iran reaches one million each year. Tax relief and facilities are Turkish strategies to attract investors in tourism industry, such that Iranian investors brought Turkey’s tourism industry out of bankruptcy. Turkey, which neighbors Iran, is geographically smaller and has fewer tourist attractions than Iran. How its tourism industry could shine is a question that must be answered by Iranian officials./end