Tehran, Iran, Dec.19
Trend:
The tourism industry has become a major economic and valuable industry in the world, and many countries have been able to make major contributions to this market by creating more attractions.
Some countries that have no resources, have been able to enhance their economy by expanding the tourism industry, including countries such as Turkey and the UAE. A few weeks ago, the Tourism Organization of Iran announced that Iran hosted five million foreign tourists last year.
"Most of the tourists who come to Iran belong to the continent of Asia, and especially our neighboring countries,” a senior member of the parliamentary Committee on Culture, Tayebeh Siavoshi told Trend.
The statistics of last 2 [Iranian] years indicate that tourists in Iran are more likely to be from Iraq, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Turkey, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, India, China and Germany. In the year 1395 (2016), about 4.300 million tourists chose Iran for travel, and the figure rose by 300,000 in the last [Iranian] year,“ she said.
"These tourists, have boosted jobs that are related to the tourism sector and, therefore, we faced with a significant sale of Iranian goods. Many efforts were made in the Iran's sixth development plan to boost tourism, and three bills were ratified in this regard, which provided extensive advantages to the tourism sector,” she added.
Yet, Siavoshi admits that despite the privileges, this industry in the country did not grow as much as planned.
“The most important issue in tourism industry is that there is still a security perspective in this area for foreigners, and many of them think that they cannot come to Iran and be safe,” she said referring to the reason for missing the opportunities to attract visitors.
“Most foreigners who choose Iran to travel are people who are considered as middle class and are not considered a kind of luxurious tourists, so they do not import the expected currency to the country. On the other hand, the limitations to travel of foreigners to Iran is mattered and it seems that officials should change some rules in this regard,” she said.
Iran is a Muslim country in which Islamic law is strictly enforced. Islamic codes of behavior and dress are strictly enforced. In any public place women must cover their heads with a headscarf, wear trousers (or a floor length skirt), and a long-sleeved tunic or coat that reaches to mid-thigh or knee. Men should wear long trousers and long-sleeve shirts.