Iran's Tourism Minister Says Development of Tourism is Impossible with 130 Old Airplanes

The Minister of Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts, and Tourism of the government of Pezeshkian stated that the development of tourism is impossible with 130 aging aircraft. Reza Salehi Amiri announced on Tuesday, December 4, that these facilities cannot accommodate 15 million tourists and added, "To develop the tourism industry, we need more aviation capacity and the operation of foreign airlines in Iran." Mr. Salehi Amiri mentioned that last year, 6 million and 382 thousand tourists entered Iran. He did not specify the nationalities of the foreign tourists, but Iranian officials have previously stated that half of the foreign tourists in Iran are Iraqi. He also deemed the country's ground fleet inadequate to meet the existing needs for attracting foreign tourists and pointed out the impossibility of using foreign credit cards in Iran, stating that the country's infrastructure is not ready for the development of this sector. Concerns have been raised about the potential removal of Iran from the list of travel destinations in all foreign tours. The expectation of utilizing newer and more aircraft or the entry of foreign airlines comes at a time when the European Union has also sanctioned Iran Air, Mahan Air, and Saha Airlines due to their involvement in transporting weapons for the war in Ukraine. Iranian officials have previously stated that more than half of the country's aircraft are grounded, and U.S. sanctions against Iran's aviation industry, accusing it of participating in the transfer of weapons to proxy forces in the region, also prevent Iran from purchasing new aircraft. Mr. Salehi Amiri, without mentioning the widespread arrests of foreign and dual nationals in recent years, which Western countries refer to as "the Islamic Republic's hostage-taking for financial and political concessions," stated that the next issue in the lack of tourism development is "Iranophobia," which occurs "due to malicious propaganda by enemies." He expressed hope that by the end of the seventh development plan (by 2028), the goal of attracting 15 million tourists would be achieved. Meanwhile, the condition of neighboring countries in air travel and tourism is noteworthy. While Iran's aging air fleet is a concern, according to the latest official statistics, airlines from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates served 26 to 27 million passengers in the first half of the year, and Turkish airports hosted 103 million passengers in the first ten months of this year, three-quarters of whom traveled on Turkish airlines. In terms of attracting tourists, the UAE hosted 30 million tourists in the first half of this year, and statistics from Turkey's Ministry of Culture and Tourism indicate that 54 million foreign tourists entered the country in the first ten months of this year. Turkey has set a target of generating $60 billion from foreign tourism this year. Saudi Arabia also hosted 27 million foreign visitors last year, including two million Umrah pilgrims, generating $37 billion in revenue, a historic record for the country. This figure accounts for a 3% share of Saudi Arabia's GDP, but the country aims to increase this share to 10% through tourism development. Currently, the tourism industry accounts for over 9% of the global economy, with the market volume reaching $10 trillion annually.