ICHHTO Head Announces Investments Made on Tourism in Iran

Some IRR 1,800,000 billion (~US$13.8 billion) of investments have been made on tourism sector, Head of  Iran’s Cultural Heritage Handicrafts and Tourism Organization (ICHHTO) Ali-Asghar Moonesan announced. Making the remarks in his visit to Qazvin province, he added that via reducing bureaucratic procedures, investment attraction can be improved in this sector. As reported, Iran's travel and tourism sector grew at 1.9% to contribute IRR 1,158,000 billion (~US$8.9 billion) or 6.5% of overall GDP and 1,334 jobs (5.4% of total employment) to the economy in 2018.

This is according to the World Travel and Tourism Council’s annual research into the economic impact and social importance of the sector. The WTTC report also shows international visitors spent IRR 168,954 billion (~US$1.28 billion) in Iran in 2018. The council expects the number of international arrivals to stand at 6.5 million in 2019.

Lately, Iranian authorities have redoubled efforts to boost the tourism sector for increasing foreign currency revenues and creating jobs under the declining economic conditions. The decline in national currency last year meant that travelling to and shopping in Iran became cheaper for foreign nationals. - Mehr