The top tourism official in Ilam Province called for the expansion of tourism ties at border areas with Iraq to help boost local businesses and livelihood in the western province, which is beset with high unemployment and other economic hardships.
"The framework of tourist business with Iraq, particularly in Ilam Province, is limited and inappropriate and needs modification and improvement," said Abdolmalek Shanbezadeh, head of the provincial office of Iran's Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization.
"The ineffective model of tourism cooperation between the two countries has stemmed the two-way flow of tourists."
He highlighted the pilgrimage-only visa policy as the main obstacle to the expansion of a tourist exchange program with Iraqi cities across the border from Ilam Province.
Two-Way Street
"Tourist exchange entails a bilateral commitment. Issuing non-pilgrimage travel visas at the Mehran border crossing needs to be authorized if Ilam is to follow through on its commitment to send visitors to Iraq," Shanbezadeh was quoted as saying by IRNA on Saturday. Iraqi tourist companies have voiced readiness to deeply engage with their counterparts in Ilam Province but have yet to see the same will on the part of Iranian tourism authorities, he said. Iraq-bound tourism business is exclusively controlled by the Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization and its affiliated travel agencies, Shanbezadeh decried.
"Agencies operating under the ICHHTO's supervision are not allowed to organize tours."
Eyeing Long Stays
He stressed the need for measures to facilitate long stays of Iraqi visitors in the province. "Some Iraqi travel companies that take visitors to tourist destinations in Iran do not make long stops in Ilam. The province's tourism agencies should get active and devise packages offering to host Iraqi tourists for longer periods."
Ilam's hotels booked a total of 308 Iraqi visitors over the first two months of the current Iranian year that began on March 21, compared with 425 bookings for the same period last year, indicating a drop, Shanbezadeh said.
Located in western Iran, Ilam Province shares a 430-km length of common border with Babil Province. Mehran border terminal, situated between the two provinces, has become a major trade and travel hub in recent years.
A total of 1.6 million Iraqi tourists travel to Iran annually by land or air, of whom 500,000 are cleared at the Mehran crossing.
