Iran's Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization will propose a package to support the tourism sector to the government next week, according to a top official. Dramatic fluctuations in forex rates and the enforcement of a round of US sanctions against Iran which have caused complications for tourism-related institutes prompted ICHHTO to prepare a plan to offer some relief to the businesses.
Although the full contents of the package are still under wraps for the tourism community, Ali Asghar Mounesan, ICHHTO head, had earlier pointed to the outline of its terms.
"The plan calls for postponing or reducing the value added tax, eliminating the entry stamp from foreign tourists' passports at the request of the hoteliers association and travel agencies and granting a one-year moratorium to hoteliers on repayment of their loans," he had said.
Without mentioning new details of the support package, Mohammad Moheb-Khodaei, ICHHTO's tourism deputy, told ISNA that it will be completed and presented to the Cabinet for approval in a week.
Industry Insiders' Input
Responding to the criticisms that the tourism society has not been privy to the contents of the plan, he said, "Tourism organizations have been consulted during the process of drafting the proposals and they put in their requests including tax exemptions and lifting insurance restrictions for foreign tourists, which were included in the plan," adding that it is still pending completion and institutes can put forward their demands.
After submission of the package, according to the official, the ICHHTO plans to convene joint meetings involving representatives of target markets in cooperation with travel agents to organize familiarization tours for foreign tour operators.
"This project will soon begin for Azerbaijan and will proceed to the markets of Afghanistan and Iraq before being implemented for the European market," he said.
A major concern for inbound tour operators is the spread of an anti-Iranian sentiment among foreigners as a result of the US hostile policies and the western media's propaganda campaign.
Regional Model
Moheb-Khodaei refused to give a clear reply as to whether or not a budget has been earmarked in the package for advertising Iran's secure state, but advised tour companies to follow the footsteps of Turkey.
"During the unrest and terrorist attacks in Turkey, this country presented special offers to foreign agencies to counter the impact of the events on the tourism industry… we can copy the model," he said.
He noted that the rial devaluation has made travel to the country cheaper for foreigners, so tour companies can take advantage of this opportunity to make offers to their counterparts in the target countries to convince them to promote Iran and attract more tourists.
Competitive Destination
"Iran has become a competitive destination due to its [nosediving] currency exchange rate but unfortunately some companies still operate based on previous rates," he regretted.
A competitive market, he explained, relies on two indices of quality and cost and by focusing on both, like Turkey, Iran can achieve its tourism goals.
There are fears, on the other hand, that the persistence of the growing inflation in the country would eventually reverse the declining trend of prices.
Moheb-Khodaei dismissed the concern saying that travel services are only likely to rise by 30% to 40% while the currency difference has more than tripled, which means prices will remain competitive despite the galloping inflation.
