Iran’s Social Security Organization has signed a memorandum of understanding with the French group AccorHotels to help train hotel staff and managers.
The MoU was signed on Monday by Gholam Heydar Salami, CEO of Tourism and Leisure Holding Co. (a subsidiary of SSO), and Christophe Landais, Accor’s former Middle East COO for 15 years, who is now at the helm of operations in Tehran, IRNA reported.
Based on the agreement, Accor will help the SSO transfer cutting-edge hospitality technology, promote Iranian tourism, train human resources, and renovate facilities in four- and five-star hotels.
Headquartered in Paris, Accor is the world’s sixth-largest hotel group. It owns, operates and franchises 3,700 hotels in 94 countries across 5 continents representing several diverse brands, from budget and economy lodgings to luxurious accommodations in exotic locales.
The company was the first international group to set up shop in Iran soon after the signing of the July 14, 2015 historic nuclear accord between Iran and P5+1 (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany). The group opened two hotels — Ibis and Novotel — at the Imam Khomeini International Airport south of Tehran last October.
Tourism and Leisure Holding Co. is also planning to build 100 lodging facilities across Iran. Construction of 30 hotels will begin in the next Iranian year (starts March 20) as soon as funding is secured. There are 1,100 hotels and guesthouses in Iran, about 132 of which are four-and five-star establishments. In order to accommodate 20 million visitors a year by 2025, which is Iran’s stated goal, the country needs at least 400 quality hotels.
