Top officials of Iran's Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization met with board members of the Iranian Hoteliers' Association to discuss the growing problems facing the industry so as to prepare a support package to be proposed to the government.
Apart from the reduction in the number of guests, the costs of hotel management have increased dramatically making it difficult for businesses to make ends meet and leading to redundancies in the sector. The main demand raised by hoteliers was a reform in the rate at which room prices are calculated.
Jamshid Hamzezadeh, head of the association, complained during the conference that while all travel agencies receive their fees in foreign exchange, hotels are not allowed to do so.
"This could be addressed by offering a double room rate meaning the price is calculated in rials for Iranian guests and in dollars for foreigners," he said, adding that this will not only prevent confusion for travelers, but also resolve many of the hoteliers' problems.
Ironic Situation
Kamyar Eskandariyoun, secretary of the association, said sarcastically that at the moment the price of a 3-star hotel in Iran equals the cost of a hamburger in Europe.
"This is a regrettable condition [for the hotel industry] for which double rating would be a proper solution," he said, ILNA reported. Ali Asghar Amiri, managing director of Tehran's Espinas Hotels, regretted that foreigners are paying a lot less for the services they receive in Iran saying that the fees would be more reasonable if a room in a 5-star hotel was priced at the rate of one in a 4-star hotel in Kabul.
"Double rating was implemented in the past decades and we propose the same strategy be adopted today," he said.
The members of the association said they would even offer their extra earnings in foreign exchange to the government.
Ali Asghar Mounesan, head of ICHHTO, said any decision in this regard requires consultation with tour operators so that they will not incur losses.
"We need to hold sessions with travel agents… We will implement any decision that the two guilds make together," he said.
Other Demands
Several other requests are also to be addressed in the support package to be proposed to the government including one regarding the Value Added Tax.
Hoteliers demanded discounts or extension of the deadline for the payment of VAT.
"A letter will soon be sent to the first vice president [Es'haq Jahangiri] in this regard," Mounesan said.
The hotel industry has also called for the elimination of border stamps on tourists' passports to alleviate possible tourists' concerns about not being able to travel to the USA.
An order by President Donald Trump in March 2017 restricts travel to the US for those who have visited Iran, along with Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria or Yemen since March 1, 2011. This would naturally discourage people from traveling to Iran.
Mounesan said the request has already been made and police authorities have agreed to it, but the decision is pending the approval of the Foreign Ministry and the first vice president. "I hope this will soon be enforced."
Extending the deadline for the repayment of loans and handing over certain responsibilities to the private sector were among other demands of the association which will be included in the support package.
