During the Norouz holiday (March 20 – April 2), the overcrowded Iranian capital becomes a ghost town since a large portion of Tehran residents leave to spend their vacation elsewhere.
To help draw people from other cities to Tehran, hotels have slashed their prices by 40% during the two-week holiday, according to Muhammad Ali Farrokhmehr, president of the Tehran Hotels’ Association.
“Hotel owners are free to cut prices further if they wish,” he told ISNA.
This might make Tehran — arguably Iran’s most expensive city — a surprisingly affordable holiday destination during Norouz.
Contrary to previous reports, hotel prices in popular destinations such as Khorasan Razavi, Isfahan, Gilan and Mazandaran provinces will not increase during the holidays, Farrokhmehr said, but added that most hotels in the hot destinations are only half booked.
“This means that half of the rooms in popular destinations are still up for grabs,” which is not a good sign so close to the annual holiday season, he added.
