Following the publication of a tourism report earlier this week by the parliament’s research center, deputy of tourism at Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts, and Tourism Organization (ICHHTO) labeled its statistics outdated and not reflective of the state of tourism in Iran since President Hassan Rouhani took office.
Speaking to IRNA, Morteza Rahmani Movahed pointed to the report’s data and said, “The figures cited in the report date back to 2012 and 2013; in other words, the statistics are at least two years old.”
The report stated that the number of incoming tourists in 2012 was 3.8 million, raking in $1.1 billion in revenues, while Iranians who traveled abroad spent over $7.5 billion in 2013. Considering the huge difference between the spending of inbound and outbound tourists, Iran ended its tourism year with a negative balance of $6.5 billion.
According to Rahmani Movahed, statistics for the summer of 2014 indicate a positive balance. However, he did not cite a figure.
“The Rouhani administration effectively began exerting influence on tourism from 2014,” said the official, adding that during the first year of Rouhani’s incumbency (2013) the government had to implement the previous government’s plans.
“In 2014, however, the government passed regulations which helped boost tourism.”
