Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct.21
By Fatih Karimov - Trend:
Some 750 tourists from Europe will arrive in Tehran via six luxury trains in 2015, Iran's Shahrkhabar website reported on October 21.
Ebrahim Pourfaraj, the director of the Iranian tour operators union, said the first European luxury train will enter Iran on October 23.
"After that, we plan to host 750 more tourists who will arrive in Iran via six luxury trains," he said.
Luxury trains are special trains designed specifically to offer an elegant train ride, and evoke a strong sense of association as in history, heritage and decadence of a leisurely ride.
Luxury trains operate in several countries and offer a luxurious and comfortable traveling option to luxury travelers. Whereas some luxury trains promote tourism in major destinations of an entire continent other trains take guests on a long leisure ride, cutting across state borders but limited to one specific country. Nowadays there is an increase in the trend of luxury train travel around the world.
On October 15, a luxury train left Budapest with 70 passengers onboard for a first-time trip through the Balkans, the Bosphorus and Kurdistan with Tehran as the final destination.
Reuters reported that the Golden Eagle Company offered a two-week tour ending in the Iranian capital, with 70 passengers riding in an old refurbished luxury train.
Prices range from £9,000 to £25,000 for full service with a private bathroom, along with the sightseeing itinerary and a leisurely view of scenery from the train across 7,000 km.
The number of foreigners visiting Iran jumped dramatically over the 12-month period ending in March, with 35 percent more tourists compared to the same period a year earlier,
Iranian Vice-President and head of Iran's Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization Masoud Soltanifar said on Oct. 18 that thriving industry could help boost Iran's economy out of recession and bring in much-needed hard currency.
He said 4.5 million of foreign tourists that came to the Islamic Republic over the period, brought in some $6 billion in revenue.
He attributed the increase to the 2013 election of President Hassan Rouhani, who has advocated for tourism, hoping it will help improve the country's image.
"The new government has employed a proper language in international relations, leading to growth in tourism," Soltanifar said, adding that foreign tourists, most of whom are from neighboring countries, spend about $1,500 each in Iran.