ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Foreign tourism in Iran is up by more than 50 percent, according to state media, despite crippling US sanctions, coupled with hardline rhetoric against the Iranian government. But those in the industry are worried that stream of visitors won't continue.
Some 7.8 million tourists visited Iran during the last Persian calendar year that ended on March 20, 2019, IRNA reported on Monday. That's a 53-percent increase over the year before.
US sanctions, imposed after President Donald Trump withdrew from the nuclear deal in May 2018, have hammered the Iranian currency and slashed the country's income from oil sales. Travel in and out of the country has also been affected after airlines were forced to cancel or scale back some services.
The government in Tehran has sought to lessen the impact of the sanctions by strengthening ties with its allies and forging stronger relations with the East. With respect to tourism, the focus turned to "regional markets and China," Ali Asghar Mounesan, head of the Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization told IRNA.
Through the government efforts, the effect of sanctions on the tourism sector were "neutralized," Mounesan said. They saw huge growth in visitors coming from neighbouring Turkey, as well as Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, and Iraq, he explained.
The tourism industry contributed 7.3 percent of Iran's GDP in 2017 and was forecast to nearly double to 14 percent in 2018, according to the London-based World Travel and Tourism Council. Nearly 1.6 million Iranians were employed in the sector in 2017.
Tour operators are enjoying the booming business for now, but they worry the high numbers of visitors won't last. The tourists coming now booked their visits months ago, explained Parisa Eivazi, inbound manager at Let's Go Iran, a Shiraz-based travel agency. Future bookings have "become less," she told Rudaw via WhatsApp.
Let's Go Iran have customers from all over the place, "even from [the] US. Germany, Spain, Japan, Australia... groups from China," Eivazi said, explaining the sanctions have made a trip to Iran a bargain. "As the value of Iran currency goes down, things in US dollar get cheaper for tourists."
An American tourist who asked to be identified as Jaqueline was in the country last August when sanctions took a big bite out of the economy. "It was challenging to be there during the week that their currency basically halved in value, and also presumably salaries, life savings if any, etc." she told Rudaw.
Visiting a country while her government was labelling it the "leading state sponsor of terror" and rallying global support for its campaign to isolate Iran was worrying. "Americans obviously haven't been tourists there very much for a long time." But once she was in the country, "I was so welcomed," she explained. "Iran was a great travel destination – the history, the current events, the food, everything was great!"
Iran has a rich history, stunning art and architecture, and warm hospitality, making it a fascinating tourist destination. The New York Times labelled it a "Middle East jewel" and included it as one of its 52 places to visit in 2019.
For now, most people considering a trip to Iran aren't too worried about the animosity between the United States and Iran. They "ask about rules, dress code, safety" said Eivazi at Let's Go Iran. But that will change as both sides turn up the heat. In recent days, the United States deployed an aircraft carrier to the region and Iran says it intends to restart some nuclear activity.
Some 7.8 million tourists visited Iran during the last Persian calendar year that ended on March 20, 2019, IRNA reported on Monday. That's a 53-percent increase over the year before.
US sanctions, imposed after President Donald Trump withdrew from the nuclear deal in May 2018, have hammered the Iranian currency and slashed the country's income from oil sales. Travel in and out of the country has also been affected after airlines were forced to cancel or scale back some services.
The government in Tehran has sought to lessen the impact of the sanctions by strengthening ties with its allies and forging stronger relations with the East. With respect to tourism, the focus turned to "regional markets and China," Ali Asghar Mounesan, head of the Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization told IRNA.
Tehran also introduced protectionist measures to support the tourism industry, like ceasing the practice of putting entry and exit stamps on visitors' passports. It is also much easier for foreigners to get Iranian visas in Iraq and Tehran and Baghdad have waived visa fees for their nationals.
Through the government efforts, the effect of sanctions on the tourism sector were "neutralized," Mounesan said. They saw huge growth in visitors coming from neighbouring Turkey, as well as Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, and Iraq, he explained.
The tourism industry contributed 7.3 percent of Iran's GDP in 2017 and was forecast to nearly double to 14 percent in 2018, according to the London-based World Travel and Tourism Council. Nearly 1.6 million Iranians were employed in the sector in 2017.
Tour operators are enjoying the booming business for now, but they worry the high numbers of visitors won't last. The tourists coming now booked their visits months ago, explained Parisa Eivazi, inbound manager at Let's Go Iran, a Shiraz-based travel agency. Future bookings have "become less," she told Rudaw via WhatsApp.
Let's Go Iran have customers from all over the place, "even from [the] US. Germany, Spain, Japan, Australia... groups from China," Eivazi said, explaining the sanctions have made a trip to Iran a bargain. "As the value of Iran currency goes down, things in US dollar get cheaper for tourists."
An American tourist who asked to be identified as Jaqueline was in the country last August when sanctions took a big bite out of the economy. "It was challenging to be there during the week that their currency basically halved in value, and also presumably salaries, life savings if any, etc." she told Rudaw.
Visiting a country while her government was labelling it the "leading state sponsor of terror" and rallying global support for its campaign to isolate Iran was worrying. "Americans obviously haven't been tourists there very much for a long time." But once she was in the country, "I was so welcomed," she explained. "Iran was a great travel destination – the history, the current events, the food, everything was great!"
Iran has a rich history, stunning art and architecture, and warm hospitality, making it a fascinating tourist destination. The New York Times labelled it a "Middle East jewel" and included it as one of its 52 places to visit in 2019.
For now, most people considering a trip to Iran aren't too worried about the animosity between the United States and Iran. They "ask about rules, dress code, safety" said Eivazi at Let's Go Iran. But that will change as both sides turn up the heat. In recent days, the United States deployed an aircraft carrier to the region and Iran says it intends to restart some nuclear activity.
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