Call for Increasing Tourism Marketing Expenditure

Countries with a high number of inbound tourists spend around $2 per visitor, while the figure is closer to $9 in countries such as Malaysia and Turkey that need to expand their global profile.

Little-known destinations spend anywhere between $14 and $40 per head.

“Iran spends only 20 cents,” Morteza Rahmani Movahed, the deputy for tourism at Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization, was quoted as saying by ISNA.

Speaking at a ceremony on Saturday to introduce Leyla Ajdari as the interim director of Marketing and Promotion Office at ICHHTO, Movahed said Iran has no choice but to increase its spending if it is to meet its ambitious goal of 20 million tourists a year by 2025.

“Cooperation with the private sector is integral,” he added.

Somed 5.5 million tourists visited Iran last year, generating $8 billion in revenues.

Ali Baqer Nemati-Zargaran, the outgoing marketing chief, said despite the organization’s low budget, efforts were made to identify target markets based on the outbound tourists’ preferences.

“We designed tour packages that were presented at international tourism exhibitions,” he added.

Iran’s top target market has long been its neighboring countries, but the severance of ties with Saudi Arabia since Jan. 2016 has led to a massive drop in inbound tourism from most regional countries, to the point where the number of Shia pilgrims has halved to around 700,000.

For over two years, officials have talked about the possibility of running ads on popular satellite television channels such as CNN, but they have made little headway as TV spots are quite costly—despite being one of the most effective promotional tools.

Last year, ICHHTO said it had held talks with Management and Planning Organization to receive state funds to make up for its low budget. If the two parties reach an agreement, the extra funds will be primarily invested in promoting Iran in neighboring states, Central Asian and other Muslim countries.