Every year, Nowruz, the Iranian festive season, feels like releasing millions of coiled springs all at once. People, particularly employees have been looking forward to the long break of the Nowruz holidays, almost from the beginning of winter. Bloated with yearend bonuses and aroused by scents of spring, Iranian families are unstoppable. Traffic is choked up and hotels are packed to the brim, and there is bitter rivalry in making the most out of the only long vacation if the year, to re-charge batteries for whatever is in store in the coming year. Amidst all the excitement, authorities are spent making preparation to ensure a safe and pleasant break for all involved.
Travel Services Headquarters
A central coordination headquarters for travel services will be convened from March 20, IRNA reported.
The headquarters will be cooperating with 18 organizations and institutions. In an official announcement, all responsible bodies are obliged to inspect the services offered to travelers, including accommodation, transport, and security. They are to receive and collate traveler’s complaints and critiques in a systematic way.
The secretariat of the headquarters is located at the tourism department of Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization (ICHHTO). It has requested travelers to be on the lookout for its notifications, useful information, and updates.
Tehran
Tehran’s hotels are offering 40% discounts to Nowruz tourists, the head of Tehran Hotels Association Mohammad-Ali Farrokh-Mehr told ISNA. The tariffs on auxiliary services offered by hotels are defined by the association. Inspections on hotel services will be conducted by inspectors from the government organizations, hotels association, chamber of trade unions inspection office, and ICHHTO.
Zanjan
Zanjan will be fully prepared for the tourists from March 5, director general of the provincial ICHHTO Yahya Rahmati told ISNA. Chalbi Oghli historical complex will open after seven years. There are accommodations and restaurants near the complex, offering services in a traditional environment.
The visiting hours of Soltanieh historical site have been extended to six hours. The pathways, signboards and other means of guidance are being prepared to help tourists move around the site knowingly. This way, tourists will not limit their visits to Soltanieh Dome, while there are other attractions around, such as Salar bath-house, mausoleum of Molla Hassan Kashi, Shah Bolaghi spring, and the stone temple of Dashkasan.
Tourism development in Zanjan will not end with the holiday season, Rahmati said. In the region of $145,000 has been allocated toward restoration of Katalekhor cave and nearby historical monuments. There will be oversight of drinking water in the cave, while monuments like the Seljuq fortress of Garmab will be restored.
Mellat Park and beginning of Tabriz road are where tourist camps have been set up. The camps are under safety protection. Around 300,000 handbooks have been published and are to be distributed to visitors introducing them to the main attractions of the province.
Qom
Official hotel and accommodation capacity of Qom is 8,500 beds. There are in addition 500 schools, college dormitories, gyms, shrines, mosques, and other public facilities that are being prepared to give shelter to visitors and pilgrims, director general of the provincial ICHHTO Issa Rezaee told ISNA.
Travel brochures, providing information on tourist attractions, are to be printed and distributed among tourists upon arrival. Red Crescent Society stands have been set up to provide travelers with additional information on health and safety. Information centers have been installed in the vicinity of Fatma Masumeh (AS) shrine and Masjid Jamkaran, and information guides will be available in hotels, inns, and motels.
Qom is privileged to have the highest number of quality motels in the country. Fourteen parks have been considered and prepared as camping sites. There will be a constant supervision of the services of sanitary facilities.
Isfahan
Nowruz preparations of Isfahan’s historical sites have been underway since January, cultural heritage deputy of the provincial ICHHTO Nasser Taheri told ISNA. The monuments are visited by about 2 million tourists each year.
Restoration and conservation of the most famous sites will be reduced to minimum during the holiday period. Heritage protection will be coordinated electronically and under the direct supervision of police and tour guides.
The provincial ICHHTO is training tourist and museum guides. They will be distributed and arranged throughout the province. Due to the overwhelming surge of visitors to certain monuments, the visits will be scheduled and the visitors divided into separate groups.
Qazvin
The newly constructed apartments in Qazvin Province will house Nowruz travelers, director general of the provincial ICHHTO Mohammad-Ali Hazratiha told ISNA.
Since Qazvin is situated at the crossroads of the north-south and east-west axes, it receives up to 2.5 million travelers cross the province over the holidays. The majority of the visitors require overnight accommodation.
To accommodate the slew of incoming visitors, schools, pilgrim centers, and Hosseiniehs are equipped and prepared for overnight stays; even some newly constructed buildings, not yet inhabitable, are being considered as temporary lodgings with collaboration with proprietors. Travelers will be given contact telephone numbers to book the flats.
Every measure is being taken to keep visitors from camping in public parks, Hazratiha said, although certain green spaces have been officially prepared and secured for setting up tents. Other services impacted by the cohort of visitors such as medical services, bakeries, repair shops, and service stations are being stocked up and kitted out.
A free mobile application will be launched March 11 at Qazvin’s cultural heritage, handicrafts and tourism website (qchto.ir). The application will introduce Qazvin Province in both online and offline modes.
Three technology development companies are building mobile applications of different functionalities. Upon arrival in the province, travelers will be sent a message and asked what info services they would like to be offered. The information is interactive.
Information posts have been set up at entry points to provide travelers with maps, brochures, and lists of attractions including historical, natural, and anthropological sites.
Yazd
Nowruz accommodation is now 70% booked in Yazd; and it is estimated that the remaining capacity will filled by the end of winter, head of Yazd Hotels and Accommodations Association Mohammad-Hossein Mohtajollah told ISNA.
Hotels of the province have a total of 4,000 beds. There are 30 traditional hotels in Yazd, and 10 modern hotels ranking between two and five stars. The hotels started taking reservations from January 21. “We hope that hotels be fully booked through the end of summer,” Mohtajollah said.
Travel agencies have been accommodating in helping shift foreign visits from the first months of spring to other times of the year. This was a great help to avoid space shortages for foreign visitors. Mohtajollah advised travelers choose the low season for visiting Yazd; this way, they will enjoy more satisfying services; and likely receive special hotel discounts.
Each double bed room costs between $36 and $108. But the tariff in traditional hotels is something between $36 and $289.
