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January 28, 2025

Javad Ghasemi: The first condition for tourism development is security/ Ali Kalaei

A few days ago, a video went viral on social media. Lionel Messi, the Argentinian football star who is currently playing in the Saudi Arabian league, kicked a ball in a video promoting tourism for Saudi Arabia. After the release of this video, discussions about tourism in Iran resurfaced and became a hot topic. Under the pretext of this, the monthly magazine “Khate Seleh” went to Mr. Javad Ghasemi, the CEO of the Iranian Tourism Experts Association, to ask him questions about this booming industry in the world and its lack of development in Iran. An industry that Javad Ghasemi calls “smokeless industry”.

Mr. Ghassami, who has a background in consulting in the fields of communications and international affairs and is the CEO of Iran Customs Services, also spoke about the issue of tourist safety in this conversation, emphasizing that this safety must exist in all areas, including physical, financial, and political. He also stressed that, in his belief, one of the reasons for investors’ lack of trust in Iran’s tourism industry is the economic situation in Iran. Mr. Ghassami went on to say that we do not have the ability to spend on figures like Messi and Ronaldo, and they may not even be interested in playing for our teams. In his opinion, “both of these issues must be addressed together.”

Mr. Ghassami continued and in response to a question about the issue of dress code and cultural issues and its impact on the lack of tourism in Iran, he claimed that most tourists who come to Iran are retirees and elderly people, and they also accept the country’s regulations and laws. The CEO of the Iranian Tourism Experts Association also mentioned about young tourists, saying, “But if we consider the young population, they may have different demands and want to be more comfortable. However, due to the current circumstances, we cannot provide that for them.”

You can read the explanation of the interview with Javad Qasemi, CEO of the Iranian Association of Tourism Experts, in the monthly magazine “Khat-e-Solh” below.

The tourism industry is considered one of the most important parameters for development, especially economic growth, in societies. However, despite having numerous historical and cultural attractions and being a four-season country, Iran has performed poorly in this field. What do you think is the main reason for this?

In the discussion of development, various topics can be raised in the fields of economy and culture. One of them is the issue of tourism. We have always been dependent on oil in Iran and did not feel the need to strengthen other resources. But today, our situation has changed. Perhaps for various reasons, the predictions we have about oil sales may not come true. Tourism is known as a smokeless industry. This industry can create immense resources for the country. This is on the condition that we prepare our conditions for international tourism by providing appropriate infrastructure. That is, if we are looking for our share of the competitive market in this field, we naturally have to provide the conditions for it. The first area and conditions are the issue of security. That is, the tourist wants to have intellectual and political security. When such an issue is not provided in a country, it is not possible to go through the process of tourism development.

One of the most important tasks that needs to be done in this field is introducing the good tourist attractions of our country. We need to assure in international conferences and exhibitions that if a tourist comes, they can comfortably travel and become familiar with the nature of Iran and its various cultural attractions, and have a pleasant memory. Like neighboring countries, we have not had a comprehensive plan for tourism development. Of course, some work has started, but the comprehensive tourism plan has not yet reached its final stages.

In order to develop tourism in a country, various components must be considered. In addition to properly introducing attractions, tourists should feel at ease and be able to travel with peace of mind and return to their country comfortably. The quality of services is also another issue that must be taken into consideration. We cannot invite foreign tourists to come and spend money if our services do not meet the necessary standards. These services include ground, sea, and air transportation. Of course, most tourists come to Iran by air, but within the country, road transportation is also used. These must also be of good quality. Another issue is the matter of safety on roads and in transportation. Additionally, the issue of quality of services in the accommodation sector is also important. While there have been improvements in services in recent years, we still do not have enough suitable hotels for the number of foreign tourists coming to Iran.

Of course, if we work in the field of pilgrimage and tourism, the definition of work will be different. Some people come and see religious sites in Iran. Their expectations may not be very high. Citizens of European and Western countries who come and spend money and create foreign income for us, they should receive good services.

Did you use the interpretation of a feeling of tranquility for tourists? What is the meaning?

See, we had tours that, for example, took tourists to the market for shopping, but unfortunately that tourist faced difficult conditions and their bag was stolen. This means that the issue of tourist safety is both about their personal and financial security. The issue of tourist health is also raised. I remember a tour that came to Iran and they faced problems, but the individual did not allow us to treat their broken leg in Iran and said they had to go back to their own country.

Of course, the level of our medical services is high, but the issue is that we must assure tourists that when a problem arises, they will be faced with high-quality medical services. Another important issue is the insurance policies that are defined for tourists. These policies must provide services for them. When a tourist comes to Iran, they either get insurance outside of Iran or inside Iran. Our insurance companies must have communication with foreign insurance companies that have insured the individual tourist so that they can provide good services to them. Otherwise, the tourist will feel that they cannot receive the necessary services if a problem arises. These services and facilities may be available in the central cities of provinces in Iran. But the tourist is not only in the city. They may also go to villages for tourism. We must make predictions to ensure that this tourist is satisfied.

Is the risk of investment in the tourism industry in Iran high?

Yes, it is high risk.

What is the reason for it?

The current trend in foreign investment in our country shows that this matter has not been well received. In neighboring countries, there is enough confidence that whenever they want, they can withdraw their capital without any obstacles. We are a country with a lot of investment opportunities, but such trust does not exist.

What do you think is the reason for this lack of trust?

It relates to various issues. One of them is our economy. In some countries, you can register a company and get a score in just two hours. But our laws and regulations are not yet in a way that someone can come and easily invest and have the necessary dynamism in their investment and be able to easily withdraw their investment profit or have a new investment. Our bureaucracy in this area is very long and excessive.

How have our neighboring countries, especially the southern Gulf countries such as the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, which do not have famous historical sites, been more successful in attracting tourists compared to Iran?

Despite having historical attractions, these countries have also prepared non-historical attractions that can attract tourists. These activities are also carried out through investment. All over the world, we have large recreational complexes that have attractions for young people. In countries like France and Japan, and in other countries, we see large towns built for recreation. But even now, if a group wants to have recreational activities in Tehran, they are very limited. But they have created enough attractions to be able to spend some of their leisure time there and leave completely satisfied. That is, with human-made things, they create a structure for rest, travel, and recreation. We cannot just rely on our historical attractions.

As you may be aware, in recent years Saudi Arabia has allocated a large budget for the development of its infrastructure and has also been promoting itself in order to attract tourists. For example, some prominent figures on the world stage, such as Lionel Messi, have participated in Saudi Arabia’s advertising campaign to attract tourists with the goal of changing the perception of Western citizens towards the country and its closed culture. Given the social and political conditions in Iran and the type of government, is it possible to adopt a similar approach?

There are several reasons why it is not possible. One of them is economic conditions. They spend heavy expenses to bring people like Ronaldo and Messi there and use their brand to introduce their attractions. But we do not have this possibility. They may also not be interested in playing for our teams. Both of these issues need to be considered together.

In fact, it is not possible for us to attract an international personality and brand ourselves using their capacity. But we have things that, if we pay proper attention to and prepare the conditions, we can become a popular destination for tourists. None of the Arab countries have similar ancient monuments like ours. Some of the ones in Iraq date back to ancient Iranian history. But for this, we need recreational, tourist, and accommodation facilities, and most importantly, human resources who are willing to serve these tourists. Those countries have been working on this for years. For example, a country like Singapore is completely tourist-oriented and its people are interested in having others come and see their country. Because they have trained the human resources for this industry. But we still have a long way to go in order to provide proper services and accommodations to tourists.

Have some policies regarding clothing and cultural issues by the government caused a decline in tourism?

Tourists who come to our country study and know what the regulations and laws of our country are. Most of them are also of an older age. This means that they are often retirees or over 60 to 70 years old. These issues are not very important to them and if they are told about the regulations and laws beforehand, they will accept it and come to see our historical and unique country in the Middle East. They also follow our regulations. But if we consider the younger generation, they may have different requests and want to be more comfortable. However, due to our current circumstances, we cannot provide them with what they want.

Do you think there is a possibility for attracting more younger tourists?

The solution could be to work in other areas. For example, we have recently become active in the field of food tourism. We have a wide variety of food in different provinces. This can be attractive for young people.

But in general, in my opinion, for the development of tourism, more attention should be paid to traditional places in the country and ecotourism. A foreigner who comes to our country may be interested in staying in a five-star hotel and receiving good service. But if we offer that good service in our own traditional and Iranian architecture themed complexes, it will be more desirable. Some of our cities have some readiness, but it is not universal. For example, we do not have these facilities in relation to the burnt city or the Chogha Zanbil area. Imagine a tourist wants to stay for a day or two in these areas and take pictures of the sunrise; we have a long distance to this possibility in these places. In fact, transportation for tourists in these areas is very difficult. We must have suitable accommodation facilities next to our historical centers and natural attractions. For example, we have multiple waterfalls in Khorramabad. But we have not worked enough on these

Of course, different types of tourists come to our country. For example, groups come for mountain climbing and conquering Mount Damavand, or some come for desert exploration in Iran. They are not very interested in staying in cities. Each of these activities requires its own specific needs, which we can gradually address based on priorities.

You mentioned the provinces of Zagros. We also have the Sistan and Baluchestan province that needs development. Despite having many tourist attractions, the income level in these provinces is low. What can be done to help these provinces through the development of the tourism industry?

We must take our comprehensive tourism plan seriously, as it includes all of these attractions and types of tourism. For example, something that is less seen is sports tourism. If a few stadiums are equipped, competitions can be designed and various tours can come to Iran. They spend money for entry and exit. Health tourism is also for those who come to Iran for treatment. The statistics for this type of tourism in the past year have been significant due to the quality of medical services. Our ophthalmology and cosmetic surgery have grown and are exemplary in the region. Often, tourists from neighboring countries come for treatment or cosmetic surgery. The Ministry of Health and specialized associations have been working on this field for a long time, and in my opinion, this is an area that can help develop tourism in the country.

On October 2021, in an interview with IRNA news agency, you had mentioned that tourism will become event-oriented in the new era. Considering that our country is far from global events, can we have hope for the future of tourism in Iran?

If we say that we want to act like Qatar – which has hosted the World Cup and Asian Cup – it is almost impossible, because a country like Qatar has been present in international forums for years and has worked on these issues and prepared its infrastructure.

To discuss event-based tourism, we must create new definitions in our country’s tourism and define festivals. For example, in the same food topic that I mentioned, we can have various types of festivals. In the first phase, we can create them for the embassies that are present in the country. Each embassy has a group of employees and some people come for economic, industrial, political, etc. purposes. We must plan tourism programs for them alongside their work. This goes back to our definition of tourism. Each person goes once and sees places like Persepolis or Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque. But if there are attractions with innovation, people become interested in going alongside their main work and seeing these attractions and participating in these programs. This is the topic of my discussion on event-based tourism.

Do you, considering your responsibility in the Iranian Tourism Association, think that the issue of tourism industry is serious for managers and officials in Iran or does it have a fantasy and decorative aspect for them?

We must see whether tourism is an economic-cultural issue for us or a cultural-economic one, because the definitions of these two are different from each other. If we prioritize the economic and financial benefits for the country, the definition is different because tourism based on income and economic revenue has its own specific definition. But if we see the priority as cultural, we should not expect mass tourists because this issue is very time-consuming, although it can be influential. For example, in Turkey, the ceremony of Mawlana is held in Konya. But we have a large number of important international attractions such as Hafez, Saadi, and Shams Tabrizi that we do not define as events for them. We can have ceremonies and nights of Mawlana, Saadi, and Hafez appreciation, each of which can be a specific topic for attracting tourists in different seasons of the year. Of course, we also have other special religious ceremonies such as Kashan carpet weavers,

Thank you for the time you have given us in the monthly magazine of the Peace Line.

Created By: Ali Kalaei
February 20, 2024

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