Perhaps you have heard about the arrests of dual citizens or foreign tourists who have traveled to Iran for leisure. These arrests are often justified by security institutions claiming that these individuals are spies and have traveled to the country for espionage purposes. The question that arises in this situation is how valid this justification is, considering the stance of other countries on these arrests. Can it be said that the security apparatus believes in its own analysis without considering the position of the opposing party and insists on it in a dictatorial manner?

These arrests not only create a terrifying image of Iran as a tourist destination in the minds of foreigners, but also discourage them from traveling to our country for their own safety, leading some to call it “Iranophobia”. But is Iranophobia solely based on these arrests, or does it have a longer history in our country?

We spoke with Mohsen Hajisaeed, the head of the National Tourist Guide Association of Iran, to find answers to this question and to further examine the state of tourism and its outlook in Iran.

Iranophobia; Why and How?

Mohsen Haji Saeed, who believes that tourism in Iran in the 1950s followed a natural trend, is convinced that the country suddenly went through transformations that led to Iranophobia: “With the formation of the revolution and the crises that occurred due to popular protests for regime change during that time, and resulted in the revolution, for the first time people around the world became afraid to travel to Iran. This fear was actually formed due to the political instability – which at that time was for changing the government.”

He also refers to another incident that led to Iranophobia: “The second event that led to Iranophobia was more important than the first. The first issue could have been resolved within a year or two; because it is natural for such changes to occur in different countries, where the government transitions from monarchy to some form of republic (of course, experts should consider how long it took for this to happen). The second issue was the takeover of the American embassy, which showed a face of Iran that does not guarantee the safety of foreign nationals. What I am telling you is the concern of tourists, and we must keep in mind that for better analysis, it is important to know the opinions of others, rather than just believing our own analysis from within.”

Haji Saeed adds: “The issue of the US embassy takeover created the misconception that no foreign national is safe in Iran, and this led to widespread fear of Iran. Another crisis that occurred during those years was the Iran-Iraq war. Due to the war lasting eight years and the bombing of airplanes all the way to the capital, many people who wanted to travel to Iran became afraid. Additionally, there were also paramilitary groups carrying out military operations. The war ended, assassinations decreased, and the establishment of the republic took place, but the takeover of the US embassy and the lack of safety for foreign nationals in Iran still remains a mystery and has created a mindset for foreigners that if I travel to Iran, I may face security issues and be arrested.”

“The head of the National Tourism Association in Iran presents a continuation of the progress of tourism after the 1979 revolution: “Until 1997, we were not focused on developing tourism and making changes in foreign policy. During the Khatami administration, the country faced crises that caused a sinusoidal, rather than linear, increase in tourist visits to Iran. This was despite the potential for a higher number of tourists, but it did not happen. The reason for this is that our foreign policy did not prioritize tourism and we did not have a specific plan for it. As a result, we were unable to attract a significant number of tourists. However, some good measures were taken (such as promotional videos about Iran that were broadcasted on international networks like BBC and Euronews), but it is necessary to analyze their effectiveness.”

Haji Saeed continues to examine the state of tourism in the 1980s: “During this period, many efforts were made to attract tourists and to showcase a positive image of Iran. However, the Western perception remained largely unchanged and the same view of Iran as a backward country persisted. Some interviews and statements made by Ahmadinejad during that time, such as “Israel must be removed from the map,” raised the possibility of a potential war in the region and instilled fear in traveling to Iran due to these issues.”

He considers the JCPOA a achievement for the tourism industry: “During Mr. Rouhani’s term, the JCPOA had a significant impact on the development of tourism and led to an increase in the number of tourists entering the country. However, this progress was short-lived and due to the US policy and the arrival of Trump, the JCPOA was unsuccessful during that period and caused more political tension between Iran and America. I remember during that time when Trump was talking about the JCPOA, many groups who were confident that Iran is a safe country reconsidered their trips to Iran. The reality is that the President’s speeches had a significant impact on the entry of tourists to Iran and this was one of the reasons for tourists’ fear of traveling to Iran.”

Haji Saeed believes that the current situation of tourists entering the country is causing Iranophobia. He says, “If we want to enter the 90s and 1400s, we have other issues that have led to Iranophobia. Perhaps the newest thing we are facing today is the lack of understanding of tourists’ curiosity. Security institutions should hold meetings with the Ministry of Tourism and those who have a deeper understanding of tourists, so that in some cases, tourists who have come to Iran and do not have a specific goal and are only mistakenly accused of espionage due to their curiosity, do not harm the national security of the country. Tourists should be separated from those who harm the national security of the country. If we can guarantee the security of tourists’ presence in the country, we can prevent Iranophobia to a great extent. In case something happens to someone who is not guilty, the case should be resolved within 48 hours with the close cooperation of the representative of the Ministry

He adds: “It is recommended that even for those with dual citizenship residing in other countries, they should never travel to Iran. We must ensure the safety of these individuals during their travels and inform them that if they engage in these actions, they may encounter problems. For example, if you film without permission while traveling to Iran, you will face difficulties. We must provide a recommendation that otherwise, their travels will be possible without any problems and they will be welcomed in the country.”

How can we eliminate Iranophobia?

The head of the National Association of Tourism Guides in Iran, in response to the question of whether actions such as visa cancellations for 33 countries have been able to eliminate Iranophobia, says: “You see, canceling visas cannot eliminate Iranophobia. Canceling visas is one of the right things we should do, and that is to facilitate travel to Iran. Nowadays, people around the world do not have time to go to the embassy, wait for a while, and do a bunch of bureaucratic work. We must announce to the people of the world that whenever you decide to travel to Iran, all you need to do is check to see if there is a flight ticket available and there is no need to worry about whether you will get a visa or not, and how difficult and lengthy this process is. Therefore, canceling visas should become a country’s policy. For example, European countries are not included in this issue. We need to see where our target market is and actually add them

He adds: “Although there are countries that were the target market and are important – such as countries like India, Saudi Arabia, and Brazil – but this is not enough and we must consider that there is a large population in Europe who are interested in traveling, are geographically close to Iran, and are potentially inclined to travel to Iran due to its cultural and historical attractions. Therefore, we should not have a more security-oriented approach towards European countries and not include them in the list of countries we want to lift travel restrictions on. In fact, it seems that there is a weakness and the list of countries should be completed.”

Haji Saeed refers to tourism as one of the ways to save the country, saying, “In my opinion, tourism is definitely one of the ways to save the country and in any case, we can rely less on oil and raw material sales in less than a decade. Therefore, we must focus on industries that can guarantee the country’s economy and Iran has the potential to replace raw material sales with tourism. Personally, I am optimistic about the future of tourism in the country, although the political future of Iran is unpredictable and we do not know what will happen and how our relations with the world will change in order for tourism to develop and for us to have a positive outlook on its future.”

We should not misunderstand the behavior of tourists.

Haji Saeed talks about the case of a Danish tourist being interrogated for liking a political post on Facebook and missing his flight. He says, “We have many problems like this where we misunderstand the behavior of tourists. A tourist should not face problems upon departure just because they liked something on Facebook or Instagram. This is an illegal action and not only should the person being interrogated be compensated, but also the cost of the ticket and other damages caused to the tourist due to missing their flight should be paid. We have repeatedly asked Mr. Zarghami and members of parliament to arrange a meeting with the National Security Council and come up with a guideline that will be communicated to all security institutions in the country so that if a tourist does something wrong, a body or committee can investigate and issue a joint decision that will have a significant impact on how they are dealt with. We cannot allow tourists to be interrogated just for liking a political post.”

He adds, “Clearly, the thing that causes a lot of problems between security forces and tourists is taking photos of gatherings and being present at them. Tourists do not know that they should not be present at public protests on the streets, because such issues do not cause complications or sensitivity in their own countries. People who are at least 40 or 50 years old and have lived in Europe have often faced public protests on their streets about various issues and may have even taken photos. The presence of a foreign national at a protest is not a crime if it is for photography, but if they are involved in disrupting public order, it is considered a crime. Only photography and being present in that space should not be considered a crime. Sometimes we have tourists who are just passing through a route and going from one museum to another and come across protests on their way and describe and take photos and videos. These days, social media is attractive to people all over the world and individuals try to capture different

Guidelines for Ensuring the Safety of Foreign Tourists

“The head of the National Tourist Guide Association of Iran talks about the necessity of having a set of guidelines to ensure the safety of foreign travelers in Iran: “In such circumstances, it is necessary for us to have a series of guidelines for this issue. The security apparatus must distinguish between a curious tourist and an individual who intends to disrupt the country’s public safety. It is not acceptable to accuse a foreign tourist of espionage under the pretext of taking photos and filming public gatherings. This is something that we must come to a conclusion about within our security institutions and inform foreign embassies that if tourists follow certain procedures, their trip to Iran is guaranteed, but if they engage in certain actions, they may face legal consequences. These guidelines must be transparent for tourists.”

He adds: “In my opinion, the most important issue we are facing today in terms of Iranophobia and the lack of Western citizens’ travel to Iran is this very issue. Many European countries have kept the recommendation of not traveling to Iran on their foreign ministry websites because their citizens were arrested last year. Some of these individuals were released after a very long time and some are still in prison.”

He describes the future of tourism in Iran at the end of this conversation as follows: “It seems that in the future, the country must rely on tourism. However, in my opinion, we do not reach a vision document. The reason is that the general conditions of the region and the perception of people around the world about Iran’s role in regional events – specifically the Gaza and Israel war and the increasing tension between Iran and Israel – have made people more afraid to travel to Iran. These factors have an impact on achieving the vision document and make it difficult to reach the numbers we were aiming for. In general, it seems necessary to first understand the impact of foreign policy on tourism development and then see which one is a priority. If we are looking to solve the economic problems of the people, naturally we must change our foreign policy and, as a result, invest in tourism and increase the infrastructure in this area so that we can somehow deal with brain drain and poverty.”