INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Iran's tourism industry seems to be picking up again
But what are the critical metrics for this industry, and how does Iran compare to its neighbors?Iran has warm sands, luscious beaches, high
and cold mountains, flowing rivers by green forests, and a list of never-ending museums and historical buildings to offer for tourists
statistics for 2019, Turkey had 51 million visiting tourists
Same year Iran only had 9 million people visiting
UAE had 25 million, and Saudi Arabia welcomed 20 million tourists into the country.These low numbers heavily impact the stagnation and
of health for a country's economic growth and stability
A boost in tourism numbers could directly help the development of GNP and GDP
Let's delve into the numbers and see how Iran's tourism health.Income Per Tourist - 2018 DataThis data shows the average amount an incoming
tourist has spent.- Iran: $720 (Total of 7.30M Tourist - 5.25 billion dollar Income)- UAE: $1,499 (Total of 23.09M Tourist - 38.41 billion
dollar Income)- Saudi Arabia: $966 (Total of 17.57M Tourist - 16.97 billion dollar Income)- Oman: $886 (Total of 3.24M Tourist - 2.87
billion dollar Income)- Qatar: $8,378 (Total of 23.09M Tourist - 15.24 billion dollar Income)Tourism and GNP - 2018 DataThis data
demonstrates the share of tourism in GNP.- Iran: 1.8%- UAE: 8.2%- Saudi Arabia: 2.2%- Oman: 3.1%- Qatar: 8.3%Next Course of ActionThe next
chapter could bear a fruitful future for the tourism industry
With covid numbers going down, all people want to do right now is travel
Traveling to Iran could be economical for many tourists
Inbound flights and hotels are mainly cheap and upscale hotels could be reserved for low prices.What stands in the way is some regulatory
and famous brand built around Iran
Ministry of Tourism tried its way with the Majestic Iran brand for some time, but it looks like a forgotten brand identity
Now is the time to take a page out of Turkey's playbook and think of a solution, much like Vision 2024 did for Turkey
Vision 2024 made it clear that the country needed a mindset built around sustainable development, and they figured out the power of the
brand image.Qatar 2022 World Cup could also be a turning point for tourism in Iran
There is already talk of hosting ticket-holders in the south region of Iran
For that, we need to wait and recheck the data
