Great interest in Iran’s traditional hotels
Foreign tourists are greatly interested in traditional hotels and willing to stay at such lodges, said a member of the board of directors of Iran Hotel Association (IHA).
Seyyed Amir-naser Tabatabaei told Iran Daily that tourists’ great willingness to stay at such hotels has led to an increase in the construction of this type of lodges and holiday accommodations in Iranian cities, including Isfahan and Shiraz.
Commenting on the changed status quo of Iran’s tourism, hotel and hospitality industries during the period after Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s first administration took office in 2013, he said the Rouhani administration’s rational discourse has led to a boom in these industries and an influx of foreign tourists to the country.
When Rouhani’s first tenure began, a large number of foreign tourists finally implemented their decision to visit Iran, Tabatabaei added.
However, in the aftermath of the reimposition of unilateral US sanctions, the number of foreign visitors to Iran dropped significantly, he said.
Last May, US President Donald Trump pulled Washington out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, signed between Iran and P5+1 in July 2015, and reimposed the White House’s unilateral sanctions on Tehran in two phases.
In the early days of Rouhani’s first tenure, the number of hotels and holiday accommodations across Iran witnessed a significant growth, he said, adding of course, the increase pertained mostly to the construction of traditional and ecotourism lodges.
Compared to the ecotourism lodges, lower investment has been made in construction of large hotels in Iran, Tabatabaei noted.
He said the reason for the increase in the number of ecotourism lodges was the influx of foreign tourists to Iran following Rouhani’s taking office, adding the quickest and easiest way to provide them with accommodation was to set up ecotourism lodges.
These residential units helped the Iranian government meet the high demand of foreign tourists for accommodations.
“Foreign visitors have shown great interest in such units as these lodges have original and traditional structures, are less expensive and provide them with greater freedom.”
All these, he added, have led to an increase in the construction of such kind of lodges.
“Some maintain that the growth in the number of ecotourism lodges would deal a blow to the country’s hotel industry. However, I believe that these units only threaten one- to three-star hotels.”
He held that investors’ low confidence in domestic tourism industry’s return on investment being positive has been among the reasons for the low investment in the construction of large hotels in Iran.
Commenting on the status quo and level of hotel industry and management in Iran, Tabatabaei said the country’s hotel and hospitality industries fail to be comparable to those of certain regional states such as Turkey and the UAE, as they have not been under sanctions over the past few decades.
“The sanctions are among the reasons why major foreign companies have refrained from investing in Iran’s hotel industry.”
The amount of investment in each industry indicates its attractiveness to investors, he said, adding, “When we see that the amount of investment in the domestic hotel and hospitality industries has not been satisfactory, we have to admit that these sectors have not been attractive to investors.”
Tabatabaei noted that a part of the investment made so far in Iran’s hotel industry has been by domestic investors and due to their love for this sector.
“Otherwise, by the time the occupancy rate of Iran’s hotels, lodges and, in general, accommodation units fail to exceed 60 percent to 70 percent per annum, it would not be economical to invest in this industry.”
He said at present, the occupancy rates of hotels and holiday accommodations across Iran are different from one city to another.
“However, the rate is higher in cities such as Tehran (northern Iran), Isfahan (central Iran) and Shiraz (southern Iran). At present, the rate stands at 50 percent in the central Iranian city of Yazd.”
To make the domestic hotel industry more attractive to investors, the length of the country’s high-season is required to be more than 250 days per year, Tabatabaei said, adding this comes as at present, the length of Iran’s high-season stands at 100 days per annum.