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have indicated that the Iranians are struggling to find methods of accessing or repatriating the money.
“Despite Iran’s forex resources in South Korea, the country has taken this nonhumanitarian measure in the wake of the US sanction,” Mehralian also reportedly said.
9.1.10 Tourism sector news
Some 276,000 Iranian tourists visited Turkey in August 2019, a figure that marked a 45% y/y rise and suggested that the spending power of the citizens of Ankara’s neighbour to the east is starting to grow once again. The data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK) showed package tours remained popular with Iranians despite the severe downturn in the Iranian economy that has included a 50% drop in the value of the Iranian rial (IRR) versus the dollar since the US reinstated heavy sanctions against the Islamic Republic from the summer of 2018.
In the first eight months of 2019, around 1.37mn Iranians visited Turkey, which was equivalent to 4.4% of all foreigners who made a visit. Iran was Turkey’s fifth-largest source of tourists in the period, following Russia that was behind 5mn arrivals, Germany at 3.3mn, the UK at 1.8mn and Bulgaria at 1.6 mn. Part of the increase can be ascribed to the Tehran-Tabriz-Van railway service reopened on June 24. It had been shut down since 2011 due to Kurdish separatist attacks.
On August 7, passenger train services between Tehran and Ankara also resumed. The rail services are scheduled on a weekly basis and are popular with Iranians on a tight budget.
Each year, around two and a half million tourists travel between Turkey and Iran, mainly by plane.
The Iranian parliament has passed votes of confidence that clear the way for two new ministers that will serve the education ministry and the newly created tourism ministry, IRNA has reported.
Mohsen Haji-Mirzaei was named the new Minister of Education while Al-Asghar Mounesan, formerly head of the Iran Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organisations (ICHHTO), will now head the tourism ministry, which is essentially an upgraded ICHHTO.
Several dozen lawmakers voted against Mounesan. They were reportedly hardline MPs against promoting Iran as a tourist destination.
The tourism ministry, officially the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Tourism, was created on August 6 following a vote by Iran’s top legislation vetting body, the Guardian Council.
ICHHTO), a non-ministerial body, was in charge of the country’s tourism and cultural affairs. However, it was repeatedly criticised for not being capable of catering for the increase in visitors Iran has attracted since it relaxed its visa requirements for citizens of dozens of foreign countries.
Recent data from the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) showed Iran's tourism sector grew by 1.9% in 2018 to contribute IRR1,158tn ($8.8 bn) or 6.5% of overall GDP and 1,334 jobs (5.4% of total employment) to the economy.
The report added that foreign visitors coming to Iran spent IRR168,954bn ($1.28bn) in 2018 and assessed the foreign arrivals figure as 6.5mn.
Speaking to reporters on September 1, Mounesan said the number of foreign tourists who had arrived Iran between March 21 and July 22 increased by 40% y/y.
55 IRAN Country Report November 2019 www.intellinews.com
