TEHRAN – Iran’s booming tourism industry is putting a strain on public infrastructure across the country, particularly on public toilets, and this is a concern that is to be addressed through building new rest facilities nationwide.

The surge in foreign visitors has been so dramatic that many four- and five-star hotels may be overbooked in high seasons. Iran has seen three years in a row with double-digit growth in international arrivals and scheduled global air capacity as well.

The Cultural Heritage, Tourism, and Handicrafts Organization in collaboration with the Ministry of Transport and Urban Development aims to construct resting facilities which are comprised of toilets, prayer rooms, as well as fragments for supplying goods and charging mobile phones, and are equipped with solar panels, Tasnim quoted CHTHO Director Zahra Ahmadipour as saying on Sunday. 

The scheme, as a pilot project, will be initially implemented in East Azarbaijan province as its capital Tabriz will be privileged as the Tourism Capital of Islamic Countries in 2018, she explained.

A total of 19.9 million travelers visited the country during the past four Iranian calendar years (March 2013 – March 2017), bringing in some $32 billion of tourism revenues, according to the CHTHO.

Iran becoming hot destination

Following a landmark nuclear deal Tehran and world powers clinched in 2015, Iran is repeatedly named as a hot travel destination by a circle of international media outlets in terms of its rich history, picturesque sceneries, traditions, cuisine and hospitable people.

Issuing visas on arrival at the airport for nationals of some 190 countries as well as issuing electronic visas are among the initiatives being considered by Iranian officials.

The government has also announced plans to create sufficient accommodation and transportation for the growing number of tourists. There is a plan to increase the number of higher-end hotels from 130 to more than 1,000 in 10 years.

At the moment Europeans travelers from countries including France, Italy and Germany, who account for the majority of Western tourists, can now get visas on arrival in Tehran, and at the main sites they mingle with sightseers from China, Japan and elsewhere.

A file photo above depicts a Western sightseer looking at a travel book on Iran. 

AFM/MG