September-06-13
The new Rohani Adminis-tration says it wants to find some way to promote visits to Iran by the expatriate community. It wasn’t clear if that would involve subsidized travel from abroad or just subsidized tourism inside Iran.
Officials said they would start the effort among the expats in Europe but hoped later to extend it to those living in the Americas.
The new director of the Iranian Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Organization (ICHTHO), Mohammad-Ali Najafi, said the Iranian government is planning to offer cheap tours, but didn’t say where the subsidies would start—before the expat gets on a plane or after he is on the ground on Iran.
“About six million Iranians are currently living in countries other than Iran,” he told a news conference, a number believed to be wildly exaggerated. “Some of them have failed to visit Iran over the past few years for various reasons. At this time, we are working on a project to provide cheap tours to Iranian expatriates for exploring Iran.”
Najafi, a former education minister, believes that Iranian expatriates should visit Iran to help boost the economy. “A large number of Iranians are unfortunately spending their money and time in neighboring Turkey. I’m confident that Iranians can get pleasure from traveling inside the country while enjoying full security,” Najafi said, touching on a sensitive point since a number of expats visiting relatives in Iran have been arrested.
Najafi said, “In partnership with the consulates and embassies of Iran in the European countries, the Iranian government will start promoting tourism to Iran in near future.”
He also said he wanted to go beyond the expat community and attract foreign visitors. “Europeans and Americans are always talking about having a good time in Iran. Positive comments and reviews about Iran in social networking websites actually encourage many people to visit Iran.”
Najafi said he has asked local tour operators to launch marketing campaigns in order to bring more visitors to Iran. “The Tourism Organization is completely ready to support the Iranian companies interested in investing in this field.”
The United States and many European governments warn their citizens—and especially their resident Iranians—about traveling to Iran. The number of European and American tourists visiting Iran has decreased significantly since the revolution.
