Iran – a country with many unknowns – is looking to take advantage of the upcoming World Cup in Qatar to boost its tourism industry.
In 2019, Iran was ranked as the third fastest growing tourist destination in the world. However, then came the Covid-19 pandemic.
Sharp drop and quick recovery
According to official figures, the Iranian tourism sector has lost more than $230 million due to the pandemic and related restrictions.
A generally accepted indicator of the performance of Iranian tourism is the Novruz holidays, also known as the Persian New Year. In 2019, 74 million overnight stays were registered during the holidays (from March 21 to April 2).
However, in 2020, this number fell so dramatically that there is no data available, and in 2021, overnight stays have dropped by an astounding 96% to just 2.5 million.
But this year the situation is much better. According to preliminary statistics, more than 50 million overnight stays were registered throughout the country during the Novruz holidays. So obviously a significant improvement over the Covid-19 era.
World Cup as another push?
Iran wants to consolidate this growth in the coming months in terms of international tourism as well. And perhaps somewhat surprisingly, the World Cup in Qatar at the end of the year could be a major boost for an industry that counts every foreign tourist.
The government plans to simplify visa procedures to attract tourists to the country during the World Cup in Qatar from November 21 to December 18.
According to reports, free visas will be issued to citizens whose national teams have qualified for the tournament, upon presentation of a ticket for a match in Qatar. Experts believe that this may encourage fans to make a stopover in Iran during their stay in Qatar due to the proximity of both states.
At the same time, local officials insist they want to use the event to combat so-called “Iranophobia” as well as Western propaganda “aimed at scaring would-be travelers.”
The Iranian government’s goal in 2014 was to increase the number of foreigners arriving in the country to 20 million per year by 2025. Whether this is a realistic post-pandemic goal is hard to say, but the intent is clear to present Iran to global tourism audiences as an attractive destination.