Passing the Corona crisis and moving the tourism wheel

In order to overcome the caravan crisis and in the first step in the tripartite coordination of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Health and Medical Education, from the beginning of November 1400, by canceling the restriction on issuing visas, tourism borders were opened. The government was a turning point for the revival of the tourism industry.

The activity of the 13th government began in 1400 while the country was in the fourth year of the illegal sanctions and the second year of the conflict with the Corona challenge, a situation that had affected all economic and social dimensions.

In the meantime, the tourism industry faced a crisis more than all other industries, jobs and businesses, the stoppage in the development of infrastructure and the incompleteness of projects, the increase in unemployment in this sector and the stagnation of travel and the sharp fall of incoming tourists to zero, while according to statistics, the amount About 9 million tourists entered the country in 2018.

In order to overcome this crisis and in the first step in the tripartite coordination of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Health and Medical Education, from the beginning of November last year, with the lifting of visa restrictions, tourism borders were opened. The government’s action was a turning point for the revival of the tourism industry.

The peak of the government’s risk-taking last year, breaking the taboo of absolute corona restrictions and helping tourism come out of a coma, was by holding the Tehran International Tourism and Handicrafts Exhibition. In recent years, it was either not held or it was limited and performed in absentia, but the daily visit of several thousand people to this exhibition promised a positive message to the stakeholders of the tourism industry: “Nowruz Persafari is coming in the spring of 1401”.

The prediction of this volume of travel in Nowruz, which became known as the travel tsunami, prompted the 13th government to bring together 23 executive bodies of the country, centered on the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts, in the form of a travel service coordination headquarters, in order to, in a unique experience, To practice mass travel in broad axes based on single and integrated management, the result of which was the relative reduction of accidents, strengthening of road assistance, up-to-date public awareness of the travel process, and the relative reduction of trade union complaints and the increase of satisfaction with travel services. A process that in 20 days (from March 25th to April 15th) showed more than 52 million overnight stays in the country, a 63% increase in travel compared to Nowruz 2019 and a 15% increase compared to Nowruz 2019.

The experience of the travel service coordination headquarters, the government’s macro approach on the importance and necessity of organizing holidays in the country and the spatial and temporal distribution of travel, and the Ministry of Cultural Heritage prepared a plan to present to the government, a plan that can organize tourism seasons in the country based on calendar holidays. It can be managed for industry activists from hoteliers and travel agencies to domestic and foreign tourists and even local tourism communities and to introduce new tourism axes and destinations to those interested.

However, the 13th government was not oblivious to the regional capacities of the tourism industry in the past year, and in addition to prioritizing the development of domestic tourism, it also paid attention to international interactions in the form of tourism diplomacy with the priority of neighboring countries and strategic partners, signing 10 cooperation agreements with Iraqi countries, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Republic of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Nigeria are the result of this approach.

The emphasis and follow-up on holding B2B meetings with markets such as Iraq, Turkey, Oman and in general the target countries of the tourism market on the sidelines of international events, in addition to the development of active business interaction platforms between Iran and these countries, shows that the 13th government shows the presence of the private sector in The title of the main arm of the tourism industry is firmly believed, of course, it is important to maintain and strengthen this approach in the next three years until the end of the government.

In this framework, with the understanding that the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts and the Organization of Islamic Culture and Communications had, the introduction of tourist attractions and handicrafts for the deepening and development of new markets became the focus of the mission of the country’s cultural advisors. Holding educational meetings and workshops and specialized meetings with advisors at the 10th Cultural Advisors Summit in Tehran was an approach for this kind of view and approach, but the development of tourism and increasing the share of attracting tourists in global markets depends on smart marketing; On the other hand, targeted marketing depends on the production of appropriate and creative content.

In the 1401 budget, the Ministry of Cultural Heritage included a clause that “according to paragraph 9 of the legal note on tax incentives in the 1401 budget, legal entities spent money for the production of cultural and educational content and the introduction of tourism capacities in foreign languages ​​with the coordination and approval of this ministry.” 100% is considered as an acceptable tax expense” This paragraph is the beginning of a win-win path in tourism advertising investment, both for the owners of the industries and for the beneficiaries of the tourism industry.

Activists of the tourism industry, especially hoteliers, have faced a challenge in the last year due to price increase, the calculation of gas tariff in the form of commercial sector in 1400 could have increased the price of customer service drastically, that too in the conditions that hoteliers just after Two years after the outbreak of the Corona disease, they wanted to restart their business, but now they had to pay heavy gas tariffs. A solution was able to help save this group of industry activists; The Ministry of Cultural Heritage suggested that the gas tariff of this sector be calculated as a service in the 1401 budget bill, this type of calculation was a great help to the crisis-hit tourism industry in this situation.

This type of approach was followed for the development of coastal and marine tourism; Despite the long sea line in the north and south of the country, the capacity has remained neglected and hidden and the neighboring countries are using it well, the pursuit of subsidizing the fuel of cruises (pleasure ships) was the solution that the Ministry of Cultural Heritage used to encourage the activity of the private sector as much as possible. He proposed in this regard and it was realized with the government’s approval. In a simple calculation, the cost of a cruise ship with a capacity of more than 1,500 people from the coast of Iran to the southern countries of the Persian Gulf with free fuel would be about five billion tomans, but with the approval of subsidized fuel, this amount will be reduced to 60 million tomans.

What is most visible in the tourism industry in the past year is the interaction between the public sector and the private sector in this area, a path that was revealed in the use of Note 18 of the budget law and according to reports, the Ministry of Cultural Heritage in granting facilities to investors to complete tourism projects. From the sources of Note 18 of the budget law, it had a positive performance, a process that started at the height of the spread of Corona and the damages caused to the private sector, and with non-stop follow-ups, this ministry was ranked among the top institutions in this field, a path for prosperity and development. The tourism industry should continue not only until the last year of the 13th government, but also in the long term.