Iranian families contributed to 0.1% of revenues of domestic hotels in the last fiscal year that ended in March, according to a report by the Central Bank of Iran.
Though Iranians spent an estimated 105 trillion rials ($3 billion) on food and lodging, hotels received a paltry 280,000 rials ($8) from each of the families, Donya-e-Safar quoted the bank as saying.
On average, each Iranian family spent about 6.5 million rials ($187) on recreation travel in the last Iranian year. When not on a tour that would include a hotel stay, a typical Iranian family is more inclined to exclude a hotel as means of accommodation.
Restaurants, on the other hand, have flourished in recent years. Restaurant business has become so lucrative that several other businesses in large cities have had a change of heart. They have changed course and joined the expanding food industry sectors, namely restaurants and fast food outlets.
Of the $3 billion spent on food and lodging by Iranian families, almost all of it (99.9%) went for food. Small wonder that the CBI attests and acknowledges the high profit margin of restaurants and fast food business.
But hotels are expected to increase in number as investment in residential and commercial units is hardly seen as profitable, especially in the sprawling capital, head of Urban Development Commission at the Tehran City Council, Mohammad Salari said.
In Tehran, however, private companies seem reluctant to invest in hotel construction. But as demand for residential and commercial units has declined, hotels are becoming more a more attractive option.
