During the last Iranian year (started March 2014), Iran’s museums were rebated 70% of their income by the government’s treasury; Mehr News quoted head of the ICHHTO (Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization) Masud Soltanifar as saying. Number of tickets sold does not necessarily spell high income for a museum, according to Soltanifar. Museum revenues are first transferred to the country’s treasury before being distributed among museums; thus, low-income museums are dependent on highly-visited ones. Naturally, some museums have higher incomes than others. “We need to make sure there is a balance between museums in terms of income,” Soltanifar said. This system supports low-income museums, making sure they are able to manage their finances and stay afloat. According to Soltanifar, some 68 million people visited museums and historical sites of the country during the spring holidays, and this figure is 141% higher than the same period last year.
