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Provincial associations entrusted the pursuit of tour guide insurance coverage to the country's guide center

✨ Rasool Jalaleddin, President of the Yazd Tour Guides Association; 🔹 Provincial associations entrusted the pursuit of tour guide insurance coverage to the country's guide center. 🔹 Follow-up was also done by one of the provincial associations, and finally this issue was voted in the parliament. 🔹 Currently, most tour guides use self-employed rural insurance services. 🔹 Tour guide insurance is especially important for novice guides and is a good support for this group due to its greater benefits than self-insurance.

Create: Oct 25, 2020 Edit: Oct 25, 2020 Regional News

Four-day vacation; Prosperity of hotels or Crona hit?

✨ The director of the country's road management center said; 🔹 We anticipate two million traffic routes in the coming days. 🔹 The main destinations will be Mazandaran and Gilan provinces and most of the output will be from Tehran and Alborz provinces.

Create: Oct 23, 2020 Edit: Oct 23, 2020 Regional News

Sharp increase in domestic flight ticket prices

🔹 In the new price list announced by the Iranian Airlines Association for domestic flights, the price and floor prices are specified. 🔹 The cheapest ticket costs 491 thousand tomans on different routes and the most expensive ticket costs 2.6 million tomans for the "Bandar Abbas - Tabriz" route. 🔹 The flight price of "Tehran - Mashhad" route is from 650 thousand Tomans to one million and 355 thousand Tomans and the flight price of "Tehran - Kish" is from 700 thousand Tomans to one million and 750 thousand Tomans.

Create: Oct 16, 2020 Edit: Oct 16, 2020 Regional News

Agricultural tourism is the strength of Golestan province in the development of tourism industry

"Ahmad Tajari" Director General of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts of Golestan Province; According to the slogan of this year's World Tourism Day, more than 100 ecotourism resorts, most of which are in the villages of the province, were put into operation. By the end of 2019, more than 50 other ecotourism accommodation units will be put into operation in the province. The first agricultural tourism exploitation license in the country was granted during the tourism week in Golestan province.

Create: Oct 7, 2020 Edit: Oct 7, 2020 Regional News

Details of the use of the new "Travel Card"

Hadi Spenloo, Bank Mellat's director of plans and programs, explained; Each person has a 150-day deadline to use Bank Mellat's "Travel Card" facility and one month to use it to repay this facility. Installments will be received for 18 months with a 4% facility interest. The most important point in using "Travel Card" is to make a smart trip in accordance with the health procedures approved by the National Crown Headquarters.

Create: Oct 3, 2020 Edit: Oct 4, 2020 Regional News

We are not worried about hotels and accommodation centers

"Colonel Nader Moradi" Chief of Tehran Places Police; Most hotel travelers are either foreign travelers or have come to Tehran for treatment. Due to our visits to hotels and inns, the health protocols in these centers are well observed from the beginning.

Create: Oct 1, 2020 Edit: Oct 1, 2020 Regional News

No doubt tourism development will promote the culture of tolerance

“There is no doubt that tourism development in Iran and throughout the world can unify and share the national benefits and promote the culture of tolerance,” Mounesan said in a message issued on the occasion of World Tourism Day. “September 27th, the World Tourism Day, has been also included in our formal calendar as 'the national tourism day'. This day is also concurrent with ‘the Holy (Sacred) Defense National Week’, the event that all of us are indebted to; we are all are indebted to the sacrifice and self-devotion of the Iranian brave youth who defended the country.” He also expressed delight that segments of the Sacred Defense reminiscences constitute tourist destinations in the country, noting “Fortunately, a part of the Holy Defense memories is registered as an important tourist destination through the committee of Rahian-e Noor (the Pursuers of Glory).” The minister referred to the slogan that the World Tourism Organization has selected for the 2020 World Tourism Day, saying: “This year’s slogan is ‘Tourism and Rural Development’, something that all tourism activists believe that villages and villagers are playing a crucial role in tourism, especially in ecolodges.” “We hope that our plans for setting up 2,000 ecolodge units throughout the country would be a promising event to build up the rural regions. A 50% increase in the number of accommodation units in Iran and the addition of travel to the household commodities can affect the economy and development of less-developed, lesser-known, and rural regions.” “There is no doubt that tourism development in Iran and throughout the world can unify and share the national benefits and promote the culture of tolerance. So, it can be said that World Tourism Day is the day of international solidarity, the day when the struggle is substituted by mutual understanding and the understanding of tourism philosophy can lead to a better understanding of the world.” Referring to the predicaments the tourism industry faced during the past Iranian calendar year (ended March 2020), Mounesan said: “Last year was a tough one; it was started by the deadly floods and ended with the spread of COVID-19. Nevertheless, at the end of last year, we broke the record of inbound tourism with 8,800,000 foreign tourists. During this crisis, we tried to support the tourism units financially and spiritually to be able to witness their development is the post-corona period.” “As President Rouhani said during the opening ceremony of 87 tourism projects in 15 different provinces, paying attention to the spiritual, cultural and historical aspect of our various tourist attractions is of utmost importance, we hope that with the help and participation of people and the private/governmental investors, we would be able to satisfy our responsibility as it suits our amazing country.” “In the end, I want to congratulate the World Tourism Day to all tourism activists, beneficiaries, and enthusiasts and wish a brighter future f other tourism industry of Iran.” Mounesan said last month “Corona is a [bitter] reality but it cannot bring traveling to a complete standstill” as he underlined that “people’s health is our first priority.” “If coronavirus-related restrictions persist, the tourism industry of the country will suffer irreparable losses and many tourism insiders will be bankrupt… it’s time to replace ‘smart and responsible traveling’ with ‘do not travel’ recommendations.” The minister announced in August that Iran’s travel sector had suffered a loss of 12 trillion rials (some $2.85 billion at the official rate of 42,000 rials) since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.

Create: Sep 27, 2020 Edit: Sep 30, 2020 Regional News

The influx of tourists to Kurdistan and the completion of the capacity of accommodation centers in this province

Deputy Minister of Tourism of Kurdistan Province; It can almost be said that the accommodation capacity of this province was completed during last week's holidays. Even now, we are witnessing the activity of accommodation centers in the province with an occupancy rate of about 70%.

Create: Sep 6, 2020 Edit: Sep 6, 2020 Regional News

Delivering the Service Experience - Chapter 14 ; Closing the Loop by Acting upon Guest Feedback

Technique 181 Understand When to Mention Your Hotel’s Name When Responding to Consumer Blogs; When responding to a negative online review, the name of the hotel should never be mentioned in the response. Con- versely, when responding to a positive online review, the name of the hotel should always be mentioned in the response. Technique 182 Understand When to Use “I” or “We” When Responding to Consumer Blogs; When responding to a negative online review, the hotel manager should use ‘I’ in the online response (e.g., ‘I will look into this issue’). The use of the word “I” signals owner- ship of the problem and resolution. On the other hand, when responding to a positive online review, the manager should use ‘we’ to spread the credit among the staff (e.g., ‘we are very glad that you enjoyed your stay’). Technique 183 Paraphrase the Problem When Responding to Negative Consumer Blogs; When responding to a negative online review, the hotel manager should paraphrase the guest’s concern in the online response. Such paraphrasing communicates to all those read- ing the response that the hotel has good listening skills. Technique 184 Include a ‘Relate’ Statement When Responding to Negative Consumer Blogs; When responding to a negative online review, the hotel manager should attempt to include a statement detailing how s/he can relate to the problem being communicated by the guest. Including a ‘relate’ statement communicates to all those reading the response that the hotel is empathetic to guests’ concerns. Technique 185 Require One New Idea Per Week; At every weekly management meeting, one manager should be required to share an innovative idea with the group that has never been attempted in the hotel. Technique 186 Graph Guest Problems According to Frequency and Seriousness; Guest problems should be tracked and plotted on a graph according to their frequency and seriousness. A cross-depart- mental team of 6–8 line-level associates and managers should be created to derive strategies for fixing the most pressing problems based upon frequency and/or seriousness. Technique 187 Text Mine Consumer Blogs for Trends; Hotel management should contract with a 3rd party ven- dor (e.g., Revinate) so that consumers’ blog postings can be analyzed for trends. Many of these 3rd party vendor products also enable management to monitor trends in competitors’ blog postings. Technique 188 Data Mine the Centralized Reservations System for Trends; Hotel management should data mine its centralized res- ervation system to identify non-obvious patterns and trends in guests’ habits and preferences. The results of such data mining can be used to better serve guests, but also to build an enhanced understanding of proper timing and placement of marketing messages. Chain affiliated hotels likely already have data mining services available to them. Managers at inde- pendent hotels can be taught some basic data mining func- tions by a consultant. The extent of data mining capabilities offered by 3rd party management companies appears to vary widely across the industry. Technique 189 Utilize the Front Desk as a Listening Post; Front desk associates should consider their work area a “listening post” from which they can overhear conversations between guests. Many guests may be reluctant to actively voice complaints to hotel staff, but discuss various issues among themselves (e.g., the ice machine was too noisy; the sidewalks leading to the parking lot were too icy). Such information should be entered into the logbook and denoted as “listening post feedback.”

Create: Sep 5, 2020 Edit: Oct 18, 2020 Hotel Management

Religious tourists can see Yazd virtually this year

"Seyed Mostafa Fatemi" General Manager of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts of Yazd Province; During the past years, in various ceremonies during Muharram, we have witnessed a significant increase in the number of tourists in Yazd. It has been decided to make it possible to communicate with travelers who have traveled to Yazd in recent years. In fact, this year we are looking to direct tourists to see the religious tourism of Yazd as virtual.

Create: Aug 27, 2020 Edit: Aug 27, 2020 Regional News

Delivering the Service Experience - Chapter 13 ; Signals of Training Transfer

Technique 176 Maintain a Clutter-Free Office; All managers should keep their offices impeccably neat and orderly because doing so subconsciously signals the importance of cleanliness and attention to detail to associates. Technique 177 Keep a Log of Guest Requests; A culture must be fostered in which it is apparent to both guests and employees that management cares about guests and their requests. All guest requests should be followed up on. A good way to do this is to create a log (example below). Not only does this log help ensure follow-up, but it gives the manager an opportunity to review requests and see if there are consistencies so these issues do not continue to occur. Technique 178 Be Visible and Converse with Guests; Most guests appreciate meeting and conversing with managers. Managers should make it a point to either assist with check-ins or roam the lobby during peak check-in or check-out. Conversations with management help personalize the check-in/check-out process. Such interactions also often uncover leads for new business and set a good example for the associates regarding the importance of interactions. Technique 179 Display Attention to Detail by Cleaning the Floor; All managers should pick up lint and other small specks of debris as they move through the hotel’s public areas. While very small items on the floor are likely unnoticeable to most guests, picking them up signals attention to detail to associates. Technique 180 Invite a Consultant to Hold Guest Surprise Clinics with Associates; Hotel management should invite a consultant to the hotel to conduct a guest surprise clinic with associates and manag- ers. Facilitated by the consultant, the clinic would span two hours and would involve associates and managers collectively brainstorming free/inexpensive ways to surprise guests. Man- agement’s participation in the clinic would signal their com- mitment to the associates. The consultant could repeat the clinic in the am and pm to maximize associate and manager participation.

Create: Aug 25, 2020 Edit: Sep 29, 2020 Hotel Management

Coronavirus has damaged 90% of tourism activities in Hamadan province

"Hossein Gharabaghi" Chairman of the Economy, Investment and Tourism Commission of Hamadan City Council; Due to the investigations, unfortunately, the tourism sector has suffered the most with the outbreak of this virus. The outbreak of coronavirus is just one of the causes of damage to tourism, and some policies need to be amended. Due to the prevalence of coronavirus and the emptiness of most hotels, we unfortunately see that unauthorized guest houses have accommodated tourists and guests without observing health protocols.

Create: Aug 23, 2020 Edit: Aug 23, 2020 Regional News