Tourism refers to a collection of activities, services, and industries that provide travel facilities, including transportation, accommodation, food and beverages, retail shops, entertainment, medical services, etc. for individuals or groups who are away from home. It is a dynamic and competitive industry that requires the ability to constantly adapt to the changing needs and desires of customers; as customer satisfaction, safety, and enjoyment are the main focus of this industry. In other words, tourism is a collection of phenomena and relationships resulting from the interactions between tourists, commercial providers, governments, and host communities in the process of attracting and hosting “tourists”.

The World Tourism Organization defines a tourist as “a person who spends at least one night in a public or private accommodation in the place visited.” Tourism is a school of thought that is based on the concept of travel and exploration, and a tourist is someone who engages in travel and exploration. The word “tourism” is derived from the French word “tour.” In French, “tour” means a circular movement, an act of walking, traveling, or touring. The Oxford Dictionary provides various definitions for tourism, including: a short trip and passing through a place, or the business of providing services and hospitality for people visiting a place. Webster’s Dictionary defines it as “travel for pleasure, business, or education that returns to the starting point.” In other words, tourism is a collection of interactions that take place in the process of attracting and hosting tourists between tourists, travel organizations, origin governments, host governments, and local people. It also includes all the activities that occur during a tourist’s trip

With this introduction, we must say without any formalities that this industry currently has no suitable position in Iran, given the existing laws, conditions, and dominant views, and is in a state of being and non-being, caught in a chasm of extreme perspectives. Tourism is like an orphaned child that no one takes responsibility for; a child who, despite their high intelligence and bright future, is not accepted by society due to their beauty, freedom, and playful nature, and the government is trying to keep them in the same orphanage and control their talents.

If we put aside this extreme view, is there hope for growth and profitability in this industry? Undoubtedly, with the potential, readiness, and of course the need, we can be hopeful. However, without addressing the many obstacles, a large part of which depends on the need for a change in the dominant view and governance, we should not be too hopeful and fall for slogans. The interesting point here is that while some believe in the need for a change in view, they do not have the tools, resources, support, or the necessary will. It is clear that when we talk about the tourism industry, we mean not only domestic tourists, but also foreign tourists, especially non-Iranians who enter the country to enjoy and spend money. This means the need to provide the necessary requirements and facilities for such individuals, and not to mention the constant burden on this industry. Before delving into the rest of this story, let us take a brief look at some of the important necessities for

Airport

Airports are the first stop for tourists to visit. For this reason, the conditions of airports play a very important and influential role in introducing the tourism situation in a country in terms of capacity and infrastructure. It is clear that this showcase in Iran is in a very disappointing state and a simple comparison can lead to very discouraging results. It is enough to compare the largest airports in Iran with a few airports in popular tourist destinations in neighboring countries.

Residential units

Although in recent decades, good activities have been carried out in this field and ecotourism is one of these good events in this field, but accommodation units are still a prominent challenge for this industry in Iran. This issue is even noticeable in major tourist cities in Iran, and there is no proportion between the existing accommodation infrastructure and the demand from tourists. This issue is especially evident during peak travel seasons. The existing centers also face numerous shortcomings and the tourism infrastructure in Iran does not match the volume of tourists. In addition, the few existing infrastructures are the result of private sector efforts, and appropriate actions and support from the responsible government authorities to meet the needs and demands have not been seen.

Active Human Resources in the Tourism Industry of Iran

One of the major challenges in the tourism industry in Iran is the shortage of human resources related to it. Until recently, there was no such thing as a tourism specialist and there was a misconception that tourism-related jobs do not require training or expertise. The most important issue is the training of active human resources in this industry. Although in recent years, with the support that has been provided, some of the strategic deficiencies in this industry have been compensated, there is still a long way to go to reach the desired point.

Unsatisfactory condition of health services

Contrary to the jokes made on social media with the Minister of Heritage for his emphasis on the need for proper attention to health services tailored to the needs of tourists, without a doubt, one of the important issues in tourism is paying attention to hygiene, especially the state of health services. Health services are one of the fundamental problems for foreign and even domestic tourists in Iran, which makes their travel experience unpleasant. The problem here is that although officials constantly talk about the need to boost tourism, they do not even pay attention to their most basic needs.

Lack of coordination of historical centers

This issue is currently one of the weaknesses in tourism in Iran, as according to the World Economic Forum’s competitiveness index, Iran ranks ninth in the world in terms of the number of UNESCO cultural heritage sites. Considering this great potential in Iran, which is highly welcomed by many foreign tourists, there are two important points that have been neglected in the management of these sites: the first point is the lack of accessibility for people with disabilities (although this is a widespread issue in the country and not limited to historical and cultural sites). The second point is more specialized, but worth mentioning, and that is the design of a specific route in historical sites and museums. In fact, in historical sites and museums in the country, there has been no attention paid to designing a route, a plan, and a clear goal for the tourist. If these simple points are taken into consideration, it will create excitement in the audience and they will not be left to randomly wander around different parts of the site during their visit.

Unfavorable financial infrastructure

Another challenge in this industry in Iran is related to financial issues; a challenge that tourists face in Iran and a large part of it is due to the inability to use international credit cards or restrictions on their usage. Since the infrastructure for this possibility does not exist due to international sanctions, tourists traveling to Iran will inevitably have to carry cash, which may cause problems for them.

With this brief look at the state of the tourism industry in Iran, there is no need to emphasize again the conditions we are facing; our distance from neighboring countries is significant and we have a long way to go to even get close to them, requiring a revolutionary movement to fully achieve it. With the current trend, there should be no hope for the development of this industry and the reasons for it are also very clear.

A brief look at the income of neighboring countries from this industry makes everyone feel regretful. In Turkey, they have planned to attract 60 million tourists by 2024. The Arabs are also seeking to become one of the top tourist destinations, including historical, cultural, and natural attractions, by 2030. Azerbaijan, Iraq, United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Qatar should also be added to this list as they are currently working on developing their tourism infrastructure to attract a larger share of Middle Eastern tourism.

Turkish Minister of Treasury and Finance, Mehmet Şimşek, has stated on his social media accounts that we have shown the best performance in tourism in 2023. The number of visitors to Turkey has reached 57.1 million with an annual increase of 11.1%, surpassing the target of 56.7 million. Based on the medium-term plan and the continuation of this upward trend, it is expected that the number of visitors will reach 59.4 million and tourism revenue will increase to 59.6 billion dollars this year. He has stated that their goal for 2028 is to reach 100 billion dollars in tourism revenue with over 82 million visitors.

Saudi Arabia also took an interesting lead in tourism last year. The number of tourists in Saudi Arabia in 2023 witnessed a 66% increase, with 27.5 million foreign visitors traveling to this country. In the first half of 2023, Saudi Arabia saw a 132% increase in revenue from this industry, reaching $9.86 billion. Previously, Saudis had always focused on religious tourism with the two cities of Mecca and Medina, but now they are diversifying their tourism offerings.

But Middle Eastern tourism is not just Turkey, Saudi Arabia, or the Emirates, and Azerbaijanis are also seeking to develop their tourism industry. Despite security and infrastructure challenges, Iraqis are also working to improve their path. The country’s ancient sites, including “Babylon,” “Ur,” and religious sites for Shia Muslims, are capacities that can attract more Middle Eastern tourists to this region. Omanis also have a diverse range of attractions, including pristine beaches, mountain landscapes, and traditional architecture, which they have preserved well and are now focusing on attracting tourists to take advantage of these attractions. Qataris have also made progress in developing their tourism industry by hosting the 2022 World Cup and promoting themselves as a luxury travel destination. Even Pakistanis have had one of the best performances in tourism in the past year. According to the “World Tourism Barometer” published by the United Nations World Tourism Organization, Pakistan has experienced a 115% increase in foreign tourist arrivals in the first nine months

It is clear from this account that the state of the tourism industry in Iran not only has a significant and meaningful gap with international standards, but also a far distance from neighboring countries. The slogans and statistics presented by government officials do not even slightly reduce the pain of this gap. The statistics presented are mostly for organizational consumption rather than an indication of growth and progress in this industry. Currently, all efforts of managing this sector are focused on promoting domestic tourism, which is also hindered by the complicated situation of inflation and the dark outlook of inflationary conditions. On the other hand, considering current policies and the dominant government perspective, there is no sign of improvement or hope for the future. What can be done? The answer is clear: in today’s Iran, nothing! The reasons for this answer also go back to the decision made by the government in this regard. Delving into the details of this issue is beyond the scope of this note and also beyond the writer’s ability to bear its consequences.