There is no place for “specialized subsidy” in the tourism industry
The tourism industry activist stated that there is no place for “specialized subsidy” in the tourism industry and said: “During the seasonal decrease in passengers, granting this type of subsidy is an incentive for tour operators, tourism service offices, airlines, and hoteliers.”
In an interview with IRNA’s tourism reporter, Mohsen Reshnawaz said: “The policies for cheapening travel are different for inbound tourists and outbound tourists.” Of course, because the cost of some goods and services is lower than other countries in the world, Iran is considered one of the cheap destinations for foreign tourists.
There is no infrastructure and payment system for international credit cards in the country, and tourists face problems for shopping and paying. He, who is the CEO of one of the travel and tourism service companies, believes that the political, social and economic conditions also include the tourism development infrastructure. Most of the countries whose budget incomes are provided by the tourism industry have first provided all these types of infrastructures and other infrastructures needed by tourism such as flight lines, accommodation and hospitality facilities, visa issuance facilities, reservation and online payment services have been created and strengthened. .
Reshnawaz pointed out: the use of cash is obsolete everywhere in the world, and all tourists carry international credit cards. Now, how should a traveler who plans to travel to Iran pay when making a purchase? There is no infrastructure and payment system with these cards in the country and tourists always face problems for shopping and paying.
Referring to the cheap travel policy for Iranian tourists, the tourism industry activist stated: no action has been taken in this field until now; In all these years, currency fluctuations have greatly affected flight rates and hotel stays, which lead to more expensive travel costs, although the final pressure of this increase in prices is on the shoulders of travelers, and ultimately the tourism industry is the one that suffers.
Determining transparent channels of currency supply for tourism industry activists
Reshnawaz considered the process of providing and granting travel currency as one of the main infrastructures of the tourism industry and said: When a foreign hotel is booked for a tourist, it is confirmed after a week and we have to pay for it immediately, while there is a clear and transparent channel. There is no currency to transfer to pay the fee; Several certified exchange offices should be designated so that we can purchase currency or issue remittances through them.
The absence of an airport makes flights land in distant cities and the tourist has to travel 4 to 5 hours by bus to reach the main destination. Stating that preferential currency and subsidies have not been allocated to the tourism industry, he emphasized: by determining a few specific exchanges for Carrying out foreign exchange operations for the tourism industry activists, in the first place, at least the financial activity of the tourism unit becomes clear, and in the next step, the tax amount of that unit – which contributes to the general income of the country – is clarified, from this point we can see the importance and role of the tourism industry in the national economy. and the macro policy makers of the country realize that this industry plays a significant role in the macro economy of the country.
The tourism industry activist considered the existence of a standard airport and direct flight at the destination as one of the most important infrastructures for the development of the tourism industry and said: sometimes travel expenses are imposed on the traveler due to the lack of a direct flight to the destination and the need to transfer from the first destination to the main destination. Adds the cost to the total price of the travel package. On the other hand, the absence of an airport makes the flights land in distant cities and the tourist has to travel by bus for 4-5 hours to reach the main destination, which of course increases the cost of the trip and also creates side risks due to the safety and security of the roads. he does.
Incentive policies are essential in the tourism industry
Reshnawaz considered incentive policies in the tourism industry as necessary and explained: In some countries where the tourism industry is professional, they have professional methods for paying subsidies, at certain times of the year, specialized travel subsidies are paid indirectly in the form of tourism incentives.
He said: In Turkey, in cities where flights and passengers go less, the government announces “to the charterer or travel company and the airline that passengers [مثلا] from Iran to that city, he will pay 5000 dollars”, this work not only reduces the price of the tour, but also encourages the charterer and benefits the Turkish business partner.
“Tourism industry trustees can apply incentive policies for tour operators and tourism service offices that bring foreign travelers to the country during the seasonal decrease in travelers; These are specialized subsidies that can encourage airlines and hoteliers.
Some receive travel currency, but do not travel
Reshnawaz said: Giving individual subsidy in the form of preferential currency given to every traveler with a national code is a wrong action, some people only receive this currency, they don’t even go on a trip, and the cost of travel and tourism is for the main tourist who does not use this type of currency. It will be expensive. How many millions of national cards flow to exchange offices, but do the same number of tourists leave the country?
When tourists reduce their trips, the domineering pillars and components of the tourism industry will also fall into stagnation. The tourism industry activist stated: On the other hand, the cost of leaving the country will multiply at once, and for every departure in a year, a step is calculated. If we are looking for the development of tourism. The initial costs of travel should be reduced, these are a kind of tax levies that are imposed on travel and tourism and slowly bring tourism into recession and shutdown, because when tourists reduce the number of their trips, the dominoes of the tourism industry will also fall into recession. goes.
He added: The main guardian of the tourism industry should identify and monitor all the tourism issues from infrastructure and superstructure, from political, economic, cultural and social conditions to the competition with peers and tourism markets in neighboring countries, and if necessary, new policies Compile and approve and provide the necessary infrastructure based on these new policies.
Delays and traffic will incur additional costs to the tourist/not guaranteed
Reshnawaz mentioned the conditions of road traffic as well as flight delays in Iran and said: there is no guarantee that a foreign tourist who comes to Tehran and includes Isfahan, Shiraz and Yazd in his itinerary, during the trip or when returning to Tehran Do not encounter delays and traffic jams of several hours, whether it is four hours back to Tehran or 24 hours! Both the itinerary is ruined and it imposes additional costs.
The tourism industry activist stated that “the cost of each night’s stay in foreign hotels is from 100 to 700 dollars” and said: There are no such prices in Iran, the price of gasoline is also lower, if the tourism infrastructure is improved, specific and targeted subsidies will be given to encourage tourism. if all these are in place and monitored, the cost of traveling to Iran is much lower than other countries, traveling to Iran and domestic tourism will be very cheap.
The strange and cumbersome rules should be removed from the way of airlines
Referring to the sanctions against Iran and the air ticket pricing system for foreign flights, Reshnawaz said: According to the tariff that we announced, foreign airlines in Iran provide all services to passengers based on a subsidy system, but the currency they need must be obtained from the market. free, that is, they charge the ticket price from the Iranian passenger in Rials, but after the full payment of the airport and fuel costs, they have to buy and withdraw the currency from the open market at the time of money transfer, this kind of issues should be resolved. Some foreign airlines have left Iran due to the sanctions, while others, which are not subject to the sanctions and can come to Iran, get caught up in these kinds of strange and troublesome issues.
The tourism industry activist stated that “the largest amount of our incoming tourists is from Iraq” and said: Iraqis come to our country in addition to having cultural, historical and religious similarities, because the travel expenses in Iran are economical for them, but if the conditions provided and the tourism infrastructure is strengthened, surely people from European and East Asian countries will travel to Iran.