Although the number of domestic tourists in Iran is much higher than those who travel abroad, their contribution to the country's economy is far from what is expected of the industry.
This, according to a travel expert, is due to a number of factors for most of which Iran's Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization could be held accountable.
Speaking to ILNA, Adreshir Orouji said Iranians' strong tendency to travel cheap is among the reasons why the share of domestic tourism in the country's GDP is negligible.
"Based on the latest figures provided by Iran's Statistical Organization, around 66% of Iranian travelers visit their relatives' homes in different cities. Only about 5% stay in hotels and other accommodations and 3% take organized tours," he said. The figures clearly indicate that that tourism fails to help boost lodging and tour operating industries the way it is expected to.
Besides, choosing to stay with family and friends on a trip would deter a potential population from traveling because they have to host guests in exchange. The undesirable situation calls for plans to either make domestic travel more affordable or enhance the quality of services to be able to compete with foreign destinations.
Unawareness
Last year, 2.5 million people traveled to Turkey alone for leisure purposes and a threefold jump in departure tax does not seem to have discouraged them. This shows foreign destinations are more alluring.
"It appears that these people know the alleys of Turkey better than Iranian cities," Orouji said.
He complained about Iran's pathetically weak and unprofessional promotion of its attractions that fades against advertisements and offers by the neighboring Mediterranean country through travel agencies.
"Advertisements about attractions of Iran are often documentaries in which a tourist goes to hard-to-reach places saying this is a nice place, please come visit; But it is never mentioned how to get there and where to stay," he said. Attractions should become products and this will not be attained unless access to that place and facilities are provided and promoted.
Attractions as Merchandise
Another shortcoming plaguing Iran's domestic tourism is that the existing market is confined to certain provinces.
ICHHTO has been proposing plans to distribute the traveling crowd not only across the country but also throughout the year, such as introducing summer and winter destinations.
Orouji, however, maintained that by improving the infrastructure, giving a favorable reception to the tourist and making special offers, among other methods, each city can become a travel product regardless of its climate.
According to him, destinations are considered goods that should be sold to customers through the same business strategies.
Reservation systems also fail to meet the customers' demands and are at times unreliable sans adequate supervision by ICHHTO.
"ICHHTO should have a portal where all reliable booking systems are listed so that in case of a problem, the customer can follow up through the organization," he said.
Unreliable Data
Orouji leveled strong criticism at ICHHTO for its refusal to prepare precise data on tourist numbers. "This organization does not even present five-year statistics on three sectors of domestic, inbound and outbound tourism so that researchers and policy-makers can evaluate the status of the industry," he lamented. In a meeting with First Vice President Es'haq Jahangiri last year, ICHHTO authorities pledged to publish precise figures, but it has not been realized yet.
The most reliable and globally- used tool for measuring tourism is the Tourist Satellite Account, in whose absence, the statistics are only rough estimates in Iran.
"We have been calling to no avail for a website where documented data on the three sectors is published in a timely manner at least once every three months," he said.
