Iran drafts investment package to develop tourism

/By Azernews/

By Aynur Karimova

Iran, which plans to attract 20 million tourists to the country over the next 10 years, has drafted an investment package for developing tourism sector, which includes 1,500 projects worth $30 billion.

This was announced by the head of Iranian Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization, Massoud Soltanifar on April 26.

He told Trend that the plan envisages $25-$30 billion in revenue per year.

The Iranian government is interested in cooperation with the domestic and international investors for developing the country's tourism sector, according to him In this regard, the government has taken several measures to draw the attention of tourists to the country. In particular, visa regime has been facilitated, and projects for the construction of new hotels have been launched.

"Several projects for constructing hotels in historical and religious cities are underway," Soltanifar said, further calling on Azerbaijani entrepreneurs to invest in Iran.

Tourism is undoubtedly one of the industries with the most promising growth prospects in Iran. Being one of the largest countries in the Middle East and one of the top 20 largest economies in the world, Iran is expected to see significant tourism growth following the lifting of sanctions that previously have restricted foreign investment since 2006.

Currently, the Islamic Republic's share in the world tourism stands at 0.24 percent and such a result does not meet the country’s interest.

Today, the country is in focus of American and European tourists, who are planning to beat a path to the long-isolated country’s door to explore whatever is beyond it.

The World Bank reported that 4.96 million tourists arrived in Iran in 2014. The World Bank statistics indicate 1.175 billion inbound tourists across the globe in 2014 with an expenditure of $1.426 trillion.

Iran's Tehran and other locations around the Caspian Sea are key tourism destinations that will be of great interest to tourists.

Currently, there are about 1,100 hotels throughout Iran, but only 29 of them are listed as five-star and 75 as four-star hotels. This will require the development of additional hotel capacity, estimated at least 150 hotels to cater to the increased demand.

Taking this requirement into account, the country plans to triple the number of hotels.

Statistics show that Iran has earned at least $6.1 billion from tourism during the past year and Tehran intends to achieve the development of its tourism industry in a short term.

The Islamic Republic needs to lure 20 million visitors a year to generate $30 billion in revenue. Apparently with its plan to draw the attention of tourists, Tehran is going to compete with regional tourism spots, such as Turkey and UAE.