www.tehrantimes.com Iran will have a great future as a travel destination for tourists from not only Islamic and neighboring countries but also western states, DPA quoted German hotel developer Axel Donald Sauer.
"The surrounding countries like Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates are a big market for pilgrims’ tourism to the holy sites of Islam. Iran expects to have 80 million tourists from the region within 10 years," said Sauer.
In addition Iran anticipates hosting some four million western tourists over the next years, he noted.
Sauer who heads a hospitality consultancy firm in Tehran, said Iran's main focus should be on cultural, ecological as well as business and conference tourism.
Iran announced last March it was to invest $30 billion in its tourism infrastructure over a five-year period as part of a master plan effort to gain a 20 percent share of world tourism by the year 2024. |