Over 94,000 domestic tourists have stayed in the province during the mentioned time, Jalil Jabari said on Thursday.
In nine months, over 16,000 foreign travelers stayed in the province’s accommodation centers and it is estimated that 5,500 foreign tourists will stay in these units in the fourth quarter of the year, the official added.
The accommodation centers have generated over 40 job opportunities during the mentioned time as well, he noted.
Back in December, Jamshid Hamzehzadeh the head of the Iranian Hoteliers Association announced that following the planned measures, the occupancy rate of the country’s hotels, which had fallen below five percent because of the outbreak of the coronavirus, has reached 45 percent over the past three months.
Multiple problems, notably the pandemic, caused a severe impact on the tourism industry, the official explained.
Even before the coronavirus outbreak and in 2019, travel was reduced due to heavy rains and flooding across the country, and the hotel industry had to recoup nearly 100 percent of the costs paid for canceled hotel reservations, he added.
The Iranian hoteliers have lost 220 trillion rials (about $740 million) over the past two years, he noted.
However, some problems have been resolved and the hotels’ condition has improved, he mentioned.
Back in October, the official announced that Iranian hotels are ready to receive foreign tourists as the issuance of tourist visas and the flow of foreign tourists from land and air borders would be resumed.
Ninety percent of the hotel staff have been vaccinated against the coronavirus, so the hotels are ready to welcome foreign tourists, observing strict health protocols, he said.
The main destinations of foreign tourists in Iran are specifically cities such as Mashhad, Qom, Tabriz, Shiraz, Yazd, and Isfahan, and to return to the figure of over eight million incoming tourists before the outbreak of the coronavirus, serious planning is required, the official added.
Iraqi tourists will flood the country once the borders open, but attracting tourists from Europe will require some time, he noted.
However, he noted that two-thirds of the hotel staff have lost their jobs, he added.
Back in September, Hamzehzadeh announced that all employees of accommodation centers across Iran are scheduled to be vaccinated against the coronavirus.
“To vaccinate staffs of all accommodation centers, including eco-lodges, apartment hotels, and guest houses, as well as hotels, more coordination with the Ministry of Health is needed,” he added.
Persian
