Iran Organizes Fam Tours to Attract Russian Travelers

To encourage more Russians to visit Iran, a number of private travel companies, including travel agencies and airlines have invited a team of tour operators from the northern neighbor to visit several popular Iranian destinations.  

Last Friday, a team of 32 tour operators from Moscow, Ufa and Tatarstan embarked on a weeklong familiarization tour of Tehran, Kish Island and Isfahan, Mehr News Agency reported.

During the visit, the tour operators will be able to evaluate the cost of tour packages to Iran and identify the shortcomings that will be discussed at a meeting in Tehran.

The Russian delegation will later prepare the ground for the next groups of Russians to go on the tour.  

The ultimate goal is to encourage similar Russian tours twice a week.

According to Yaqoub Qasemi, director of Iran Markaz Travel Agency, "Tatarstan-Kish and Isfahan-Tatarstan routes are planned to operate twice weekly flights, carrying 600 passengers."

Oleg Safonov, the head of Russian Federal Tourism Agency, had earlier labeled Iran as one of the safest places to visit and said there are about 30 million people out there in Russia who are eyeing an opportunity to become familiar with Iran's history, culture, handicrafts and art.

"The most essential step that Iranian tourism authorities can take in line with the objective is to establish a travel office in Moscow," he added.

Safonov called on Iranian tourism officials to promote Iran's tourism capacities in the Russian media such as TV channels and cyberspace.

Iranian officials are optimistic about launching one more flight connecting Russia to Mashhad, Iran's religious tourism hub in Khorasan Razavi Province, to tap into the potential of Russian Muslim community.

Iranian officials are also pursuing a plan to waive visa requirements for group tours consisting of a maximum 15 travelers and organized by certified tour operators from both countries.