Tehran,Iran, Feb.1
Trend:
Iran hopes to attracts some 20 million tourists annually in the future, as a way to improve its economy that is currently been hit by the US sanctions.
Masoud Shirinkalam the secretary of tourism commission at Iran Chamber of Commerce has discussed the country's tourism situation after the US sanctions in an interview with Trend.
"From the private sector's point of view, there have always been problems in the field of tourism. The first issue relates to infrastructure. Specifically, the tourism infrastructure has to do with transportation, foreign currency exchange, water, gas, electricity facilities, etc. If all this is implemented, foreign tourists can be attracted.
Shirinkalam noted the negative propaganda against Iran, saying that the main problem that overshadows the country's tourism capacities - the political problems, that may lead to Iran's economy being sacrificed for the sake of politics.
Referring to the recent foreign currency fluctuation in Iran, he said that the tourism industry could benefit, since statistics say Iran is the first-ranked cheap destination for foreign tourists, and the foreign currency situation has created an opportunity to attract more tourists.
"Banks and exchange agencies should offer proper solutions for foreign tourists' currency exchange problem, specially European tourists," he said.
Speaking of statistics in the current Iranian year (March 21, 2018), he said that the data issued by the officials is contradictory, since, for example, in the first seven months some 8 million tourists visited Iran, but the travel agencies and the private sector suggest the number was about 4 million.
He went on to add that Iran needs to have more of budget hotels, not just those of 4-5 stars. He also said that many tourists are interested in eco camps and eco-tourism areas in villages, so Iran needs to take advantage of that.
He noted the current infrastructures have the capacity to attract some 10 million foreign tourists.
"One of the solutions to save the country from the current economic situation is to focus on tourism industry, and attract foreign tourists to bring foreign revenues for Iran," he pointed out.