Iran's Tourism in a Nut Shell

When discussing the history and tourism, one would definitely acknowledge Iran as one of the prime historical destinations in the world. Iran has an old history of tourism and trade with the rest of the world. Due to its geopolitical, cultural & economic importance, the country has always been attractive to the outsiders.

With over 150 known monuments whose historical background dates back to thousand of years, Iran has been recognized as one of the top 10 historical destinations in the world. However, in the past 3 decades due to different factors including the negative propaganda, the country had had to deal with numerous difficulties in order to overcome the stereotypes.

In the last decade, Iran has re-enforced its tourism infrastructures, and relaxed certain rules, to attract more tourists to the country. Though the response may have been a little slow, the results have been promising, and incoming tours have tremendously increased.

One of the advantages that is helping Iran to boost its tourism is the fact that the country is a major bridge connecting Europe, Central Asia, and the Caucasus, on one hand, and the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean on the other hand. All of these would not come easy if there were no efficient systems of transportation, good infrastructures, and arable roads. In order to make this fact sound like a Nut Shell, its important to take a look at some of the country's infrastructure achievements;

Airports:

Iran has 54 civilian airports. the country's biggest airport, is Imam Khomeini International Airport (IKIA) in suburban of Tehran, some 30 Km south of the capital. The first phase of its construction was completed in year 2001. The total construction cost of the first phase is estimated at $1 billion. It is capable of accommodating 12 million passengers and 200,000 tons of cargo on yearly basis. According to the aviation experts, the airport has the expansion capacity up to 20 million passengers, and 375,000 tons of cargo, when its middle phase is done, and 40 million passengers, and 700,000 tons of cargo on yearly basis, when its final phase is completed.

Subway & Urban Railway Systems:

The construction of first subway system in Iran started in year 1984. It was in year 2000 that the first Tehran's subway known as Metro, was inaugurated. The first phase included Tehran- Karaj express electric train that connects this two cities distance of 31,4 Km. Currently, Tehran Metro is servicing couple of other stations within Tehran and its suburb including one that connects cities of Tehran and Ray, in the southern part of Tehran.

To strengthen tourism in other major cities of Iran including Shiraz, Isfahan, and Mashhad, the provincial governments have ordered the construction of building of subway in Shiraz, Urban Railways in Isfahan & Mashhad. Currently, construction of subway stations in both cities are under way. In Isfahan for instance, the city is constructing a North-South line which connects Kaveh intercity bus terminal to Soffeh intercity bus terminal, some 12.5 Km that includes 15 stations. The line is going to be in operation in two phases. Phase one which is from Kaveh station to Imam Hosein station (4.7 Km) will be finished in 2005, and phase two which is from Imam Hosein station to Soffeh station (7.8 Km) will be finished in year 2007.

In Mashahd, a city with a population of 2.2 million, the administration has planned a Light Rail Network. Works for the first phase has started in 1999. The phase will extend 18 Km in North-West direction, with 22 stations, some 11 stations of which will be underground.