Isfahan, Iran, February 22
By Mehdi Sepahvand -- Trend:
Iran recently made a deal with world powers aimed at rejuvenating its economy which had been afflicted with harsh sanctions and was quite stagnant.
In the wake of the deal, a large torrent of foreigners have started to visit the country for both business and leisure purposes, opening hopes of a giant leap in the hospitality market here.
"Iran is full of upcoming markets. Under the new circumstances our opportunities are getting bigger and we are looking forward to having hotels here," Ziad abi Raad, development manager at Kempinsky (Shaza) Hotels told Trend on the sidelines of the International Traveling and Hospitality conference in Iran's tourism hub Isfahan February 20.
"However," he noted, "Iran is not new. We have been looking for the market over the past five years."
Iran hosted 4.8 million foreign tourists in 2014. The country has a wide range of attractions, including 19 UNESCO-registered sites, mountain ranges, carpet and other handicraft, religious and corporate government tourism programs, and a robust exhibition business.
The government aims to attract 20 million tourists per year by 2025. The current annual incoming tourist number stands at five million.
Iran has 1,100 hotels - 130 of which are four or five-star.