Tourism in Iran
This article needs to be updated.(October 2019) |
Tourism in Iran provides a range of activities from
The government website advises visitors to "dress modestly" at all times, which for women means covering head, arms, and legs down to the ankles.
The country faced as of July 2023 an extreme drop in the number of its foreign tourists, because of security problems such as
From SIM cards for foreign tourists they only have Internet.[8]
Beaches and coasts are veiled for sex segregation.[9] There are also Islamic police Morality patrols.[10]
Iranian government ended visa requirements for 60 countries in 2023. It was also once reportedly expecting six million annual tourists.[11]
According to the CEO of Iranian Tourism Forum, however, as of 2023 there were no foreign tourists coming to Iran, not even for free.[12]
Background
Kish Island attracted around 1 million visitors in 2012–13, the majority of whom were Iranian, but the area also attracted many non-Iranian Muslims interested in beach holidays with Islamic-style beaches where men and women use separate beaches.[13][14]
Before the
Since the revolution, however, a majority of foreign visitors to Iran have been religious
Tourism declined dramatically during the Iran–Iraq War in the 1980s.
In 2013, the number of foreign tourists in Iran reached 4.76 million, contributing more than US$2 billion to the national economy.[15][16]
Over five million tourists visited Iran in the fiscal year of 2014–2015, four percent more year-on-year.[17]
According to a report published by World Travel and Tourism Council in 2015, the size of its tourism industry was estimated as having the potential to create jobs for 1,285,500 and rise by 4.1% pa to 1,913,000 jobs in 2025. Based on the report in the year of 2014, travel and tourism directly supported 413,000 jobs (1.8% of total employment). This was expected to rise by 4.4% in 2015 and rise by 4.3% pa to 656,000 jobs (2.2% of total employment) by 2025.[18]
In October 2018, Ali Asghar Moonesan, the head of Iran's Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization (ICHTO), announced that the number of tourists who visited Iran in the first six months of the Iranian year (starting March 21) rose by 51 percent compared to the same period in 2017.[19]
Foreign visitors
The 2008 figures from the
Citizens of the US, United Kingdom, and Canada must by law have a tour guide with them at all times.
Organized tours from
According to official statistics, about 1,659,000 foreign tourists visited Iran in 2004 - although government statistics don't distinguish between tourism, business and religious pilgrims; most came from Asian countries, including the republics of
From 2004, the country experienced a 100 percent growth in foreign tourist arrivals until mid-2008, when the number of foreign arrivals surged up to 2.5 million. In particular, there was an enormous increase in the number of German tourists traveling to Iran.[25]
The World Travel and Tourism Council claims that business and personal tourism rose by 11.3% and 4.6%, respectively, in real terms in 2007, with the growth in personal tourism modestly below that of the preceding year.[13]
In 2011, most of Iran's international visitors arrived in Iran solely for the purpose of leisure travel. Leisure tourists arriving from abroad are also often relatives of Iranian citizens or
The number of international arrivals increased, up from 2.2 million people in 2009 to 3.6 million in 2011, with per capita spending of $1,850 per visit on average.[26][27]
Over five million tourists visited Iran in the fiscal year of 2014–2015, ending March 21, four percent more year-on-year.[17]
(Source: EIU)[13] | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 est. |
---|---|---|---|
International tourism, arrivals ('000) | 1,656 | 1,720 | 1,769 |
International tourism, receipts (US$ m) | 917 | 971 | 1,022 |
Visa requirement
Iran has tried to improve its complex and time-consuming visa application process, and started to issue week-long visas for the nationals of 68 countries at airports.[29]
Iran has road border crossings connecting it with Iraq, Turkey, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Armenia and Azerbaijan.
After the Covid-19 pandemic, Iran decided to boost its tourism sector. It announced to waive visa fees for spectators of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, who wished to visit Iran.[30][31]
Infrastructure and the economy
In the early 2000s the industry still faced serious limitations in
In FY 2003 Iran had about 69,000 restaurants and 6,000 hotels and other lodging places; about 80 percent of these establishments were in urban areas. Some 875 restaurants and hotels were publicly managed by cooperatives and government organizations. More than 95 percent of restaurants and hotels had fewer than five employees, and only 38 had more than 100 employees. In FY 2002 this sector employed more than 166,000 people, 42,000 of whom worked in places of lodging. Of the 56,618 beds in all hotels, about half were located in three- to five-star hotels.[34]
In recent years, 235 hotels, hotel apartments, motels and guesthouses have become operational nationwide. As of 2010, 400 hotels and 200 hotel apartments are under construction nationwide. Some 66 percent of these projects are underway in the provinces of
Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization of Iran
Area considered for further expansion in the tourism sector in Iran are
Officials state that Iran has in recent years earned about US$1bn a year from tourism.[13] Close to 1.8% of national employment is generated in the tourism sector.[26]
Weak advertising, unstable regional conditions, a poor public image in some parts of the world, and absence of efficient planning schemes in the tourism sector have all hindered the growth of tourism.[13]
Iran's '20-Year Vision' document projects investment of over $32 billion in the country's tourism sector and targets 20 million tourists by 2025.
Outward tourism
(Source: EIU)[13] | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 est. |
---|---|---|---|
International tourism, departures ('000) | 3,478 | 3,648 | 3,986 |
International tourism, expenditure (US$ m) | 4,353 | 1,380 | 1,579 |
Traditionally, only a small number of wealthy
Following the
See also
- Iranian peoples
- History of Iran
- Culture of Iran
- Iranian art
- Demography of Iran
- Geography of Iran
- Tehran
- Tabriz
- Mazandaran
- Kermanshah
- Shiraz
- Sanandaj
- Isfahan
- Yazd
- Kish Island
- Airlines of Iran
- Homa Hotel Group
- List of museums in Iran
- Persepolis
- Sport in Iran
- Iranian cuisine
- International rankings of Iran
- United Nations World Tourism Organization
- Visitor attractions in Iran
- Naqsh-e Jahan Square
References
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Further reading
- Travels in the 'Real Iran' by Eric Weiner, World Hum, June 19, 2009
External links
- IR-IRAN Electronic Visa (Iran eVisa) Application System
- Iran's official tourism website List of tourist attractions. Also helps tourists apply for entrance visas online and provides them with important phone numbers and necessary information about transportation and foreign Embassies in the country.
- List of airlines of Iran
- Irpedia Tourism Archived 2005-04-21 at the Wayback Machine - The official website of tourism industry association of Iran
- Iranian Students Tourism & Travel - affiliated with the Academic Center for Education, Culture, and Research Archived 2011-11-02 at the Wayback Machine
- "Daftar.org" - online visa application for U.S. citizens - Iranian Consular services in Washington D.C.
- Pictures of Iran - WorldIsRound
- Iran Travel and Tourism at Curlie