Tourism in Iran

Tourists in Persepolis in 1976

Tourism in Iran provides a range of activities from hiking and skiing in the Alborz and Zagros mountains, to beach holidays by the Persian Gulf and the Caspian Sea. The Iranian government has made efforts to attract tourists to various destinations in the country.

The government website advises visitors to "dress modestly" at all times, which for women means covering head, arms, and legs down to the ankles.

Political events, propaganda against Iran and a number of cultural and infrastructural problems have caused the number of foreign tourists in Iran to be very low after the 1979 revolution. However, Iran receives a large number of tourists from China, Russia, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq.[1][2]

Lack of hotels, lack of international staff, lack of toilets, lack of international foods, security problems of carrying expensive goods by tourists, difficulty in interbank transfers and problems of welfare centers are the main problems of tourism in Iran.[3]

The country faced as of July 2023 an extreme drop in the number of its foreign tourists, because of security problems such as foreign nationals being detained in Iran (hostage diplomacy).[4] Iran’s Minister of tourism has called toilet problems a priority, and also strict government Islamic law enforcement problematic for tourism, such as closing places, and shutting down concerts and businesses for Iran’s dress "hijab" code.[5][6][7][8][9] He has asked Minister of Road and Urban Development for assistance in increasing access to far reaching tourist destinations.[10]

From SIM cards for foreign tourists they only have Internet.[11]

Beaches and coasts are veiled for sex segregation.[12] There are also Islamic police Morality patrols.[13]

Iranian government ended visa requirements for 60 countries in 2023. It was also once reportedly expecting six million annual tourists.[14]

According to the CEO of Iranian Tourism Forum, however, as of 2023 there were no foreign tourists coming to Iran, not even for free.[15]

  1. ^ "تعداد گردشگران خارجی در سالهای اخیر چقدر کم شده است؟ | ضربه تبلیغات سوء رسانه های مغرض به گردشگری کشور | زمان مورد نیاز برای احیای این صنعت چقدر است؟". همشهری آنلاین (in Persian). 2023-02-08. Retrieved 2024-08-16.
  2. ^ "روس و چینی به جای توریست اروپایی". روزنامه دنیای اقتصاد (in Persian). 2024-08-16. Retrieved 2024-08-16.
  3. ^ "چالش های ده گانه صنعت گردشگری". روزنامه دنیای اقتصاد (in Persian). 2024-08-16. Retrieved 2024-08-16.
  4. ^ فردا, رادیو (July 12, 2023). "نگرانی از احتمال حذف نام ایران از فهرست مقاصد سفر در تمام تورهای خارجی". رادیو فردا. Archived from the original on July 12, 2023. Retrieved July 13, 2023 – via www.radiofarda.com.
  5. ^ "واکنش ضرغامی به پلمب مراکز گردشگری بر سر حجاب اجباری: سرویس بهداشتی در اولویت است". صدای آمریکا. July 9, 2023. Archived from the original on July 10, 2023. Retrieved July 13, 2023.
  6. ^ "عزت‌الله ضرغامی، وزیر گردشگری: فعلا سرویس بهداشتی اولویت اول مردم است". ایران اینترنشنال. July 13, 2023. Archived from the original on July 10, 2023. Retrieved July 13, 2023.
  7. ^ فردا, رادیو (July 9, 2023). "وزیر گردشگری: اولویت ایجاد توالت‌‌های بین‌راهی از محدودیت‌های حجاب بیشتر است". رادیو فردا. Archived from the original on July 10, 2023. Retrieved July 13, 2023 – via www.radiofarda.com.
  8. ^ "ضرغامی: مسئله مردم توالت‌های بین‌راهی است نه کنسرت و حجاب – DW – ۱۴۰۲/۴/۱۸". dw.com. Archived from the original on 2023-07-09. Retrieved 2023-07-13.
  9. ^ Entekhab.ir, پایگاه خبری تحلیلی انتخاب (April 18, 1402). "ضرغامی درباره احتمال پلمب مراکز گردشگری به دلایلی مانند حجاب: اجمالاً قبل از این‌که کنسرت، حجاب و محدودیت‌های این چنینی مطرح باشد، فعلا اولویت مردم سرویس بهداشتی بین‌راهی است / مردم می‌گویند شما که نمی‌توانید سرویس بهداشتی را درست کنید، بقیه حرف‌هایتان هم مثل این است". fa. Archived from the original on July 13, 2023. Retrieved July 13, 2023.
  10. ^ "ضرغامی: فقدان دسترسی مناسب مانع اصلی گردشگری است". www.irna.ir. 6 June 2023. Retrieved 2023-07-18.
  11. ^ "ضرغامی، وزیر میراث فرهنگی و گردشگردی: دادن اینترنت آزاد به گردشگران خارجی پیشنهاد من بود". ایران اینترنشنال (in Persian). 2023-07-18. Retrieved 2023-07-18.
  12. ^ "Iran has "modern plans" for beach segregation". Reuters. 2007-04-12. Retrieved 2023-07-18.
  13. ^ "Iran's morality police return to streets to enforce hijab wearing". ABC News. 2023-07-16. Retrieved 2023-07-18.
  14. ^ "Tourist arrivals in Iran estimated to hit six million by yearend". 25 October 2023.
  15. ^ "رئیس انجمن تورگردانان ایران: گردشگران خارجی "حتی مجانی" به ایران نمی‌آیند". www.radiofarda.com. Retrieved 2023-12-05.