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Terrorism Hurts Iran's Tourism Industry: Official
The terror attacks in the United States have slowed down Iran's tourism industry development, the official IRNA news agency quoted a senior Iranian official as reporting on Thursday.
The September 11 terror attacks have seriously affected Iran's tourism industry, which, up till then, was improving, said Mohammad Mo'ezzeddin, deputy culture minister and head of Iran's Tourism Organization.
He said that some 80 percent of the tourists who had planned to visit Iran have cancelled their trips due to a possible U.S. war against neighboring Afghanistan and probable involvement of some other countries in the region.
Speaking on the sidelines of a conference on tourism industry, Mo'ezzeddin revealed that the tragedy in the U.S. and probable involvement of Iran's neighboring countries in the incident have almost brought Iran's tourism industry to a standstill.
He added that Iran's tourism industry witnessed an unprecedented blossom over the past few years, thanks to President Mohammad Khatami's detente foreign policies.
The industry has witnessed a 20 percent growth since Khatami assumed the presidency in August, he said, pointing out "we have been struck with a full crisis as of the beginning of the current month."
Mo'ezzeddin said that the West's negative impression of Iran, the weak advertising of its potentials for attracting tourists and the absence of services and facilities to meet tourists' needs, such as credit cards, are among factors that have turned foreign tourists away.
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