After months of no income from the corona pandemic, the tourism industry in Iran is threatened with bankruptcy. The country's tourism minister is now hoping that the number of foreign tourists will be eased, despite the recent increase in the number of infections.
According to the government, the tourism industry in Iran is threatened with bankruptcy due to the corona crisis. "Up until now, there was talk of tourism in a crisis. But if things continued like this, all investments would fizzle out and the industry would ultimately go bankrupt," said Tourism Minister Ali-Asghar Munessan in Tehran. The entrepreneurs working in the tourism industry have had no income since the outbreak of the pandemic at the end of February, but have had huge debts, said the minister, according to the Isna news agency.
The Iranian economy was in an acute crisis because of the US sanctions before the Corona outbreak. This was exacerbated by the pandemic. The national currency, the rial, has lost two thirds of its value, according to foreign exchange brokers.
Government wants to relax entry regulations
The minister is now planning a meeting with his colleague in the Ministry of Health to allow at least some easing in the tourism industry, it said. For example, the entry of foreign tourists could be allowed again under strict hygienic regulations. The restrictions on domestic travel by Iranians could also be relaxed under the slogan "travel but responsibly," said Munessan. The corona crisis is also having a massive impact on civil aviation in Iran. Since the end of February, fewer and fewer foreign airlines have been flying into the country. After the outbreak of the pandemic, the national aviation authority registered an average of 80 percent fewer international flights and more than 95 percent fewer passengers.
Iran is in the middle of a second corona wave, with currently around 2,700 new infections a day. According to the Ministry of Health, the current number of corona deaths in Iran is over 23,000, so far there are more than 400,000 proven infections with the virus. The ministry fears that the number of cases will continue to rise in autumn. The German government recently extended the travel warning for Iran until the end of September. The Robert Koch Institute has been leading the country on the list of risk areas since June 15, since the limit of more than 50 newly infected people per 100,000 inhabitants has been exceeded there in the last seven days.
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