A top official with Iran's Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization has called into question the recently released data pointing to the amount of hard currency that has flown out of the country through outbound travel, presenting differing figures based on ICHHTO's statistics.
IRNA last week disclosed data—purportedly obtained from the Central Bank of Iran—that showed a total of $312 million in foreign currency at the official rate were allocated to people traveling abroad in the first three months of the Iranian year, which started on March 21.
This is while unofficial figures point to even larger sums.
Meanwhile, Mohammad Moheb-Khodaei, travel deputy at ICHHTO, presented estimations that show a much larger number, ILNA reported.
"Based on our statistics, 1.882 million people have traveled abroad since the beginning of the current Iranian year," he said, adding that detailed data categorized by destination will be released soon.
"As each traveler can receive either €500 or €1,000 based on the destination, the total amount of currency exiting the country would be somewhere between €941 million to €1.8 billion," he explained.
In dollars, that would make between $1.103 billion and $2.207 billion, marking a significant difference with the CBI's $312 million, he added.
"I do not know of this figure and its source but the ICHHTO chief [Ali Asghar Mounesan] has repeatedly requested the CBI to officially announce the amount of currency outflow by travelers [to no avail yet]," Moheb-Khodaei said.
Disputed Policy
The government's policies with regard to allocation of foreign exchange to outbound travelers at a subsidized rate have been a matter of much dispute with most experts complaining that the move is not logical given the current shortage of hard currency.
Following widespread criticisms and ICHHTO's call for revision, the central bank finally made a new proposal to reform the method of travel currency payment, which is being reviewed at the so-called economic headquarters of the government.
It has been announced that the decision will be finalized in a few days, heightening the anxious anticipation among travelers, especially those whose trips are due in a week.
News has emerged of officials and banks making conflicting statements about the termination of the scheme.
However, with the initiation of a secondary forex market earlier this month, where the required currency for the trade of certain groups of less essential goods will be supplied at a negotiated rate, it is highly likely that the payment of travel money will be delegated to this market.
Right Solution
The most probable decisions seem to be either a total ban on the scheme or its transfer to the secondary market, none of which is efficient, according to a travel expert.
Speaking to ILNA, Hormatollah Rafiei, head of Iran's Travel Agents Association, said although the current method of payment is open to objection, the new policies would still disrupt the operations of travel agencies.
"If this subsidy is to be phased out, it had better be done in a correct and specialized way," he emphasized.
He proposed the shift of what he referred to as "traveler money" to "travel money", meaning the subsidy be paid to tour operators instead.
"The average cost of an outbound trip should be calculated and a specified amount should be paid to the tour operator," he said.
The government would be able to monitor the agencies' operations and they would be answerable about the services they provide, he stressed.
"[In this way], outbound tourism and outflow of currency will be regulated and the travel agencies would not [go bankrupt and] be forced to make their staff redundant," he said.
