Page 44 - IRANRptAug18

The previous month saw fewer transactions because people were gradually arriving back from the two-week Nowruz new year holiday. The month on month property sales jump was thus unsurprisingly as big as 278.7%.
New home sales (the data groups properties less than five years-old) accounted for the most significant share of sales in the second month, with some 8,392 units sold, which was equivalent to 43.9% of all properties sold. Tehran’s newer western suburbs see the bulk of transactions due to property availability and lower prices overall. The most expensive area of Tehran remains the mountain-hugging, wealthy neighbourhood of District 1. Its official average per sqm price is IRR125.4mn.
9.1.8 Tourism sector news
Iran’s Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organisation director has announced that the country is negotiating a new digital currency for the tourist trade conducted with India, Mehr News Agency reported on July 24. Ali Asghar Mounesan said after a meeting with India’s Ambassador to Iran Saurabh Kumar that the Islamic Republic is aiming to launch a new bilateral cryptocurrency as a way to sidestep sanctions imposed by the US. As part of its campaign to force a reshaping of Iran’s role in the Middle East, Washington will in August introduce penalties that forbid dollar-based trading with Iranian entities. Secondary sanctions will be targeted at countries or businesses that breach the restriction.
"Given the problems that the United States has created, there is the possibility of creating a digital currency exchange fund for the development of tourism between Iran and India. Also, with the issuance of electronic visas, Indian tourists can now get their visa at the airport in Iran,” said Mounesan.
He added: "There are good relations between the two countries in the fields of economics, politics and culture, but the exchange of tourists between India and Iran is at a low level, and, with the two nations having good historical ties, there is the possibility that the level will rise."
The Iranian tourism and heritage official thanked the Indian government for allowing visas-on-arrival for Iranians . Iran has likewise made visas-on-arrival available to Indian tourists.
Iran’s parliament is seriously considering removing the hard currency allowances of €500 and €1,000 given to travellers making regional trips and travelling further afield, respectively, as a means of slowing down capital flight from the country, an MP was quoted as saying by IBENA on July 16. Iran’s sole Assyrian MP, Yonathan Betkolia, a member of the Parliamentary Civil Affairs Committee, reportedly made the comments with an eye on the peak summertime holiday season kicking in. Iranians typically travel to one of several regional vacation locations including Georgia, Turkey and Azerbaijan. Such travellers are currently entitled to their hard currency allowance at the government’s relatively generous IRR50,000 to the euro, amid the collapse of the Iranian rial (IRR) largely caused by the economic pressure being exerted on Iran by the US..
Betkolia said that revised rules for foreign currency allocations would mean travellers being left to the exchange rates of the black market, with the official currency rate to be only offered to people travelling for medical trips.
He also noted that many people presently receive hard currency at government rates and then sell it for a profit on the black market.
“By providing government currency to travellers, unfortunately, the domestic tourism industry has faced unprecedented recession and much attention has
44 IRAN Country Report August 2018 www.intellinews.com