Iranian travelers to Russia for the 2018 FIFA World Cup event are estimated to have taken between $11.4 million and $25.7 million out of the country over a month that would require the attraction of between 6,600 and 14,000 foreign tourists to offset the outflow.
According to Hormatollah Rafiei, head of Travel Agents Guild Association, some 3,000 to 3,500 Iranians have traveled to Russia for the grand football festival, each staying for an average of 10 days. "The cost of their trip, including flight, hotel and tickets for matches, is approximately calculated at 150 to 350 million rials ($3600 to $8,300)," he said, ILNA reported.
Except for 30% to 40% of the flights carried out by domestic airlines, the rest of the expenses have flown out in the form of foreign exchange, the official explained.
The average cost of a trip for each person, minus the price of domestically-run flights, equals 130.7 to 330.7 million rials ($3,300-$8,000).
"In view of the fact that 3,000 people have headed for the event in Russia, the total amount of currency exiting the country would be 410 billion to 1 trillion rials ($9.7-24m)," Rafiei said.
Add to this the amount of cash paid to tourists in the form of travel money.
Based on new forex regulations, travelers to Russia are eligible to receive up to €500 or its equivalent in other currencies for outbound trips. Multiplied by the supposed number of tourists to Russia, this would amount to €1.5m ($1.74 million).
This means $11.4-25.7 million in foreign exchange have been taken out by World Cup tourists in only one month, based on rough estimates provided by Rafiei. According to him, to make up for the lost amount of capital through inbound tourism, Iran would have to attract around 6,600 to 14,000 tourists, assuming that each one would bring in a minimum of €1,000 ($1,160).
"This is while the number of foreign tourists visiting Iran is falling day by day," he said.
Off-Target Moves
To prevent the outflow of foreign exchange, the government has been adopting new approaches aimed at limiting outbound tourism and boosting domestic and inbound travel instead.
Rafiei, however, complained that the adopted measures do not seem to be contributing to the goal.
"For what reason the amount of travel money was increased from $300 to €500 and €1,000 [$580-1,160]?" he asked.
He also pointed to the departure tax that saw a threefold increase in this year's budget law, stating that its collection under the current mechanism is "wrong".
"I don't mean that it should not be collected, but the revenue should be paid to Iran's Cultural Heritage, handicrafts and Tourism Organization and it should be tasked to build hotels, shops and other leisure facilities," he explained.
