International tourism revenues reached $1.4 trillion in 2023 (1), but due to the inefficiency of the Islamic Republic, Iran did not have a significant share in this market. Although Iranian tourism officials claim to have earned $6 billion from the industry, this figure is not comparable to the income of neighboring countries such as Turkey. According to the World Tourism Organization, Turkey earned $54.3 billion from the tourism industry last year. Some believe that Turkey’s success in attracting tourists is due to the freedom to serve alcoholic beverages and the lack of hijab restrictions, which is not entirely true.

When I was in Iran, from 1375 to 1388, tourism was one of my areas of work. I interviewed most of the managers of the Tourism Organization in each period they were in office and attended many meetings. Unfortunately, all the managers in this field have only repeated the same words for the past 45 years and have not taken any real action for the development of tourism, both domestically and internationally. Even when I searched the internet to write this report, I could not find any written information about who the managers of the tourism sector were in the past 45 years, what promises they made, and how much of their promises were fulfilled.

I remember well that in 1996, when the Tourism Organization was under the supervision of the Ministry of Guidance, I had a conversation with Mohammad Moazaldin, the then head of the organization. The gist of his words was that attracting foreign investors to build hotels was their priority and they had a plan to bring in 4 million foreign tourists to the country. In 1999, Dr. Nasrollah Mostofi, the Deputy Director of Research, Education, and Planning of the Iran Tourism and Travel Organization, claimed in a conversation that the number of employees in the country’s tourism industry was 15,498 and that in the third development plan, facilities were planned to be provided to alleviate unemployment in society through the expansion of this industry.

Of course, we witness that we have reached the end of the year 1402 and the issue of unemployment has not been solved through the development of tourism in the third development plan, but the entire tourism industry in Iran has also been affected by unemployment.

Disappearance of the National Tourism Development Plan

Nasrollah Mostofi (2) announced during a press conference at Laleh Hotel in the years 1377-1378, along with a group of tourism experts, that Iran had signed a memorandum of understanding with the World Tourism Organization to write a national tourism development plan, and shortly after, Professor Rider and his wife traveled to Iran to draft this document. Professor Rider announced in the first press conference that these press conferences would be held every 3 months and he would keep us informed about the development of the national document. If I’m not mistaken, writing this document took several months and I remember Professor Rider mentioning in one of his conversations that in other countries where he had worked on writing a national tourism document, the systems were complex and the people were simple, but in Iran, the system was simple and the people were complex. For this reason, the national document was completed in 82, but not even a page of it has been implemented, and there is no news

Reasons for the failure of the Islamic Republic in tourism development.

Countries like Turkey and the Emirates, which have been able to establish themselves in the tourism industry and attract a larger share of this market each year, have simultaneously worked on management and infrastructure development. However, in Iran, the first obstacle to the development of the tourism industry is the government itself. The government does not want foreign entry into Iran. It goes without saying that in the Islamic Republic, everything must pass through the filter of security organizations, including the Ministry of Intelligence and the Revolutionary Guards, and must be approved by the clergy and religious leaders. But from the early years of the revolution until today, the government’s thinking has been that foreigners are either spies visiting Iran or they are corrupt and bringing Western culture to the country. Therefore, attracting foreign tourists has never been a real priority for the government.

On the other hand, the tourism infrastructure in Iran is not capable of accommodating the influx of tourists. In the transportation sector, we struggle with outdated fleets in the aviation industry. In intercity transportation, our roads have turned into death traps and cars into coffins. When a tourist enters the country, they may spend the most time on the roads traveling from one city to another. Despite all the colorful documents and signatures for tourism development, the issue of roadside toilets remains unsolved. Now imagine what would happen if 20 million tourists traveled to Iran!

The next problem that has not yet been solved is the lack of use of international credit cards in Iran. In today’s world, when even the people of Iran do not often carry cash in their wallets, how can we expect tourism to come to a country where they cannot use their credit cards and are told they must bring cash with them?

According to the index of the number of hotel rooms per hundred people, among 141 countries, Iran ranks 113th. The managers of the tourism organization also sat on the chairs, each of them promising to invite foreign investors and build hundreds of hotels in different parts of Iran. But even during Nowruz, domestic tourists still have to sleep in tents or on the side of the street.

In the domestic tourism sector, there is no problem with using credit cards because there is no planning for people’s recreation and relaxation. Most trips are done traditionally during Nowruz or on the anniversary of Khomeini’s departure and similar occasions, and we witness heavy traffic on the roads for several hours. People usually travel to a city where they have relatives or friends to stay with for free and also to visit. Those who want to stay in a hotel often cannot find a room because during Nowruz, most hotels are reserved in advance by government institutions and organizations. Therefore, the income we should receive from domestic tourists is not very high.

It is no secret that Iran is among the top tourist destinations in the world, with its potential for developing spa tourism due to its mineral water springs. It can also be a major source of income in sports tourism, especially skiing. Additionally, it has great potential for ecotourism, hunting tourism, cultural tourism, and recreational tourism, which our tourism industry is not taking advantage of. Incompetent managers and those who have no expertise, experience, or even interest in tourism – such as Zarqami – have become the rulers of this industry, which is supposed to replace oil revenue in the future, and have driven this ship of industry further into decline.

History of Tourism Organization Managers

In countries where their economy revolves around the tourism industry, you will see managers at the head of the tourism organization who specialize in this field. Mehmet Ersoy, the Minister of Tourism in Turkey, was a tour leader and had many innovations for the transformation of his country’s tourism industry. This is while in the Islamic Republic, the managers who have become the head of the tourism sector have no expertise in this field and have relied on political relationships to sit on the chair of the head of the tourism organization. Perhaps this is also the reason why you cannot find a precise history of these individuals on the internet. Before the revolution, the tourism sector was under the supervision of the Tourist Attraction Organization and was directly managed by the Prime Minister. After the revolution, tourism was divided into two parts; one part was the same Tourist Attraction Organization, which until 1991 was still the head of the tourism sector and was under the supervision of the Foundation for the Oppressed, and

Mohammad Moazaldin was in charge of managing the Iran Tourism and Travel Organization during the presidency of Hashemi Rafsanjani and was one of the close associates of Rafsanjani’s supporters. When Mohammad Khatami became president, the only change that happened in the organization was the rotation of bus managers. As far as I remember, the next manager, Mohammad Taaha Abd Khodaii, was also one of the close associates of the opposing group. In my first exclusive interview with him in 2003 at the Iran Tourism and Travel Organization building, which was part of the organization of Hajj and Ziyarat, he talked about everything except the tourism industry, as he had no knowledge about this sector. After him, in 2004, after the merger of the Cultural Heritage Organization and the Iran Tourism and Travel Organization, Hossein Marashi, from the Kargozaran Party, took over the management of the Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization. It is

Notes:

1- The world’s tourism income in 2023, Berna News Agency, 3 Bahman 1402.

2- The new CEO of Homa Hotel Group was appointed, ILNA News Agency, 15 Esfand 1395.

3- For more information, refer to: National Tourism Development Strategic Document.

Published on Mehr News Agency
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