Azernews.Az

By Aynur Karimova

Tourism is undoubtedly one of the industries with the most promising growth prospects in Iran. Being one of the largest countries in the Middle East and one of the top 20 largest economies in the world, Iran is expected to see significant tourism growth following the lifting of sanctions that previously have restricted foreign investment since 2006.

Currently, the Islamic Republic's share in the world tourism stands at 0.24 percent and such a result does not meet the country’s interest.

Today, the country is in focus of American and European tourists, who are planning to beat a path to the long-isolated country’s door to explore whatever is beyond it.

Carlos Aragon Gil de la Serna, a Spanish envoy to Tehran, believes that Iran will become a regional tourism and economic destination.

He made this remark at a ceremony for signing an agreement on tourism between Iran and Spanish hotels chain - Melia Hotels.

“Our aim is to expand trade volume in Iran in the coming years,” he said adding that the construction of qualified hotels in Iran is an essential requirement for investment in the country's tourism industry.

Hotel Melia Hotels and Iran signed an agreement on the hotel’s entry into the Iranian market with the Gran Melia Ghoo Hotel.

Melia Hotels International has announced its plan for the construction of the first five-star branded hotel located in a large residential, commercial and hotel complex to be developed in Iran, currently being built in Salman Shahr, a popular holiday destination on the Caspian Sea.

Ana Rubio, the Communication Manager of the Melia Hotels International, told Trend that the hotel is expected to open in June 2017, while the retail mall is already open to public.

The hotel group has future investment plans regarding Iran's tourism industry. Rubio said that following the launch of Gran Melia Ghoo, Melia Hotels International will also look to potentially expand into Tabriz, Mashad, Shiraz and Esfahan cities.

Iran, which eyes attracting international hotel groups to the country, presents several great opportunities for Melia Hotels International to expand, as Tehran and other locations around the Caspian Sea are key tourism destinations that will be of great interest to tourists.

Earlier, Rotana Hotel Management, the Dubai-based hospitality group, voiced plans to open hotels in Iran.

Omer Kaddouri, President and CEO of Rotana that the company has a plan to open one hotel in Iran’s eastern city of Mashhad and two hotels in the capital city of Tehran by 2018.

Currently, there are about 1,100 hotels throughout Iran, but only 29 of them are listed as five-star and 75 as four-star hotels. This will require the development of additional hotel capacity, estimated at least 150 hotels to cater to the increased demand.

Taking this requirement into account, the country plans to triple the number of hotels.

Statistics show that Iran has earned at least $6.1 billion from tourism during the past year and Tehran intends to achieve the development of its tourism industry in a short term.

The Islamic Republic needs to lure 20 million visitors a year to generate $30 billion in revenue. Apparently with its plan to draw the attention of tourists, Tehran is going to compete with regional tourism spots, such as Turkey and UAE.

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Aynur Karimova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Aynur_Karimova

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