TEHRAN (Iran News) Speaking in an interview with ILNA, Nguyen Luong Ngoc, the newly appointed ambassador of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to Iran, outlined the latest tourism statistics and programs in Vietnam and highlighted his country’s efforts to expand tourism cooperation with Iran, while proposing practical solutions to strengthen ties.

Iran and Vietnam began efforts to open tourism routes between the two nations more than a decade ago. However, despite mutual interest by both governments in launching direct flights, such connections have yet to be established, increasing travel costs and limiting tourist flows between the two countries.

Tourism exchanges between Iran and Vietnam face several challenges, the most significant being the absence of direct flights, which makes access difficult for travelers. Limited mutual cultural awareness has also resulted in Vietnamese people largely associating Iran with oil or political issues, while Iranians generally lack in-depth knowledge of Vietnam’s tourism destinations.

Nguyen Luong Ngoc emphasized the lack of cultural familiarity between the two nations, saying that unfortunately, the Vietnamese people have limited knowledge of Iran. He noted that addressing this issue should be a priority, adding that Iran’s embassy in Vietnam could play a greater role in promoting Iran’s tourism attractions.

The Vietnamese ambassador reported strong growth in inbound tourism to Vietnam in recent years, stating that tourism is one of Vietnam’s top national priorities. Over the past decade, Vietnam has consistently recorded increases in foreign tourist arrivals. He noted that more than 20 million foreign tourists visited Vietnam last year—surpassing the number of inbound tourists to countries such as China, Australia, and the United States.

“Out of these 20 million foreign tourists, only about 5,000 were Iranians,” he said, expressing hope that this figure would rise through the expansion of direct flights and closer cooperation between travel agencies in both countries.

Ngoc said there are no precise statistics on the number of Vietnamese tourists traveling to Iran, but expressed optimism that the figure would grow. He described Iran as a highly attractive destination for Vietnamese travelers, citing its mountains, deserts, UNESCO-listed historical and cultural sites, and rich civilization.

Referring to cultural initiatives aimed at introducing Iran to the Vietnamese public, the ambassador said Iran recently held a cultural and artistic festival in Hanoi, where performances by Iranian traditional music groups were warmly received and broadcast on Vietnamese television.

“Today, Vietnamese children read One Thousand and One Nights and are fascinated by it,” he said. “They want to see Iran and its ancient civilization firsthand. In the minds of Vietnamese people, Iran is a land of wonders, rich in history and culture.”

The ambassador said the Vietnamese embassy in Tehran has an extensive cultural agenda. In the coming months, celebrations marking the Vietnamese New Year and Nowruz will be held, which, through journalist exchanges and cooperation with travel agencies, can help enhance mutual understanding.

He added that visits by Vietnamese artists to Iran—including musicians and puppet theater performers—will continue in the future.

Discussing Vietnam’s long-term tourism outlook, Ngoc said the country aims to become a regional tourism hub by expanding airport capacity and tourism infrastructure. A new airport in southern Vietnam will have the capacity to handle up to 100 million passengers annually, while a similar project is under construction in Hanoi.

“Our goal is to increase the number of Iranian tourists to Vietnam from the current 5,000 to between 20,000 and 30,000 through the expansion of direct flights and infrastructure,” he said, adding that Vietnam also hopes more Vietnamese tourists will choose Iran as an international travel destination.

Ngoc outlined several practical measures to boost tourism cooperation, including B2B and B2G meetings, collaboration between Iranian and Vietnamese travel agencies, journalist exchanges, familiarization trips, and cultural programs hosted by the two embassies.

He stressed that cooperation with airlines, the launch of direct flights, and the promotion of cultural and tourism capacities in both countries would strengthen tourism ties, encourage investment, and bring the two nations closer together.

Vietnam is home to around 40 historical and natural sites listed as UNESCO World Heritage sites. Ha Long Bay, with its breathtaking natural scenery, is among the country’s most iconic attractions. Other highlights include the ancient landscapes of Ninh Binh with its rivers, caves, and temples; historic churches and the 400-year-old Ho Chi Minh City Post Office from the French colonial era; the vibrant capital Hanoi; the historic city of Hoi An, renowned for its handicrafts and cultural heritage; the “Mountain of a Thousand Temples”; the Vietnam War Museum; and the coastal city of Da Nang, Vietnam’s tourism capital, known for its beachfront hotels and seafood restaurants.

Iran, meanwhile, has become somewhat more familiar to Vietnamese audiences in recent years. Previous Vietnamese ambassadors in Iran worked to send journalists and travel influencers to Vietnam in hopes of paving the way for direct flights—efforts that have so far remained unsuccessful.

Nevertheless, cultural programs organized by Iran in Vietnam have helped introduce Iranian culture to the Vietnamese public. As the current Vietnamese ambassador in Tehran told ILNA, these efforts have led Vietnamese children to read One Thousand and One Nights and view Iran as a mysterious and fascinating destination rich in travel appeal.

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On Wednesday, Embassy of Sri Lanka in Tehran held a meeting for reviewing the current tourism interaction between Iran and Sri Lanka, and also honored the top Iranian tour operators and travel agencies in promoting tourism to Sri Lanka.

Sri Lankan Ambassador Mr. G.M.V.Wishwanah Aponsu hosted the event where the Secretary General of Asian Mayors Forum Hamidreza Gholamzadeh, Head of Association of Iranian Travel Agencies Hormatollah Rafiei and some other distinguished guests and Foreign Ministry official were present.

The event “Emerging Trend of Destination Sri Lanka Among Iran Tourists” started with candle-lighting ceremony and then Ambassador Wishwanah Aponsu briefed the participants of the current tourism condition in his country and his embassy’s activities in Tehran.

He said that since his arrival in Tehran in 2019 he has tried to boost cooperation with Iran in tourism and in recent years the number of Iranian visitors to Sri Lanka or vice versa has been on the rise and according to the recent statistics in the first quarter of 2023, the number of Iranian visitors to Sri Lanka has set a new record and Iran has ranked 9th among foreign visitors to Sri Lanka in March 2023 while in the past, Iranians had not been among the top 20 countries visiting Sri Lanka. He reiterated that the number of Iranian tourists to Sri Lanka in March grew by 67% comparing to the same period in 2023.

He said “Iran has been emerged as rank 13 of highest tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka during the first quarter of 2013 and for the month of March (Nowruz) Iran has been placed as rank 9 of highest tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka.”

Aponsu added “As you are aware we continue to expand two-way tourism between Sri Lanka and Iran as Iranian tourist arrivals in Sri Lanka increased by 983% in 2022 comparing to 2021 and this year and in the first quarter more than 5,000 Iranians visited Sri Lanka which shows 77% growth comparing to the same period in 2022 and this is a great achievement for all of us.”

He added Russians have been ranked first among the tourists visiting Sri Lanka. He admitted the pandemic had affected Sri Lankan tourism industry in 2022, adding that Sri Lanka was among one of the top 20 tourist destinations in the world in 2022. He said in the first quarter of 2023 some 3.5m tourists visited Sri Lanka which showed 17% growth comparing to the same period in 2022.

He also hailed Iranian tour operators, travel agencies and some airliners for helping the embassy for advancing its program for promoting tourism, adding that the embassy is now ready to open a tourism information center which will help enthusiasts who want to visit Sri Lanka.

Aponsu then noted that those who wish to visit Sri Lanka can easily apply through ETA visa online system.

He then stated “I am so proud of indicating that Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau in coordination with concerned local authorities facilitates the continued and uninterrupted supply of all facilities and other essentials as well as too ensure the comfort and safety of tourists, including women travelers.”

The ambassador hailed those who involved in this achievement and called for more cooperation especially from the media for promotion and introduction of tourist attractions of both states.

Meanwhile in the event Head of the Association of Iranian Travel Agencies Mr. Rafiei hailed Sri Lankan Ambassador for his non-stop efforts for boosting tourism between the two countries and said that tourism is the best medium for nations to know each other and reiterated that nobody should talk negatively about tourism and all should try to boost this industry despite problems. He expressed hope by the launch of direct flight between Iran and Sri Lanka, the number of tourists between the two states would increase.

The event ended with presenting awards to the top tour operators, travel agencies and media which helped boosting tourism between Sri Lanka and Iran.

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Speaking to ILNA, Jamshid Hamzehzadeh said that any incident and unrests in the country directly has its impact on tourism industry, adding that Iran’s hoteliering industry has faced different crises since March 2019, adding that flood and heavy raining, rise in gasoline price, pandemic and recent unrests in the country have inflicted heavy damages on the national tourism industry.

He went on to say that the average occupancy ratio of hotels in the country has fallen to below 20% and according to reports many hotel owners cannot afford to cover the costs and they have to spend from their own pockets and even some of them have faced in paying the salary of their staff. He reiterated that if this condition continues, hotel owners may dismiss their staff like what they did during the pandemic.

On the success of attracting foreign tourists, he said that recent incidents in the country has led to decline in the visits of foreign tourists and 85% of foreign tourists mainly from Europe, the U.S. and Asia have canceled their visits and some foreign tourists intended to pay a visit after staying in Qatar for the World Cup and they also changed their minds.

Hamzehzadeh added that most of Iranian hotels have standard certificates and some are on the verge of getting it and therefore Iranian hotels have no certain problem regarding standards.

On the change of rate of rooms, he said that it changes based on the inflation rate and the tourism ministry in cooperation with the association fix the rate rooms in the hotels.

Meanwhile Head of Union of Inns Mr Shahrokh Mohammadzadeh, for his part, said that the number of travelers in Tehran has decreased by 50% and people’s economic condition has moved in a direction that people do not tend to travel.

He blamed the rise in price of laundering, refrigerator and TV for the rise in the room rate, adding that owners of inns and motels have tried to boost their services in the level of two-star hotels.

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Talking to the Iranian state TV on Tuesday night, Zarghami said that in the last 11 months, especially after the reissuance of visas, more than 2.9 million foreign tourists have traveled to Iran, adding that the number of foreign tourists is increasing rapidly.

Zarghami said that according to the World Tourism Organization (WTO), the tourism industry will return to the normal situation before the COVID-19 Pandemic by the end of 2024 and the tourism industry in Iran will progress earlier than this date.

Over 2.9 million foreigners visit Iran in 11 months

He also said, “Iranophobia is one of the main obstacles to tourism development. Both our rivals in the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf and our enemies in the U.S. and Europe are trying to propagate Iranophobia.”

Zarghami pointed out that Qatar has invested 200 billion dollars only in attracting tourists, while none of the countries in our region have the diverse advantages of Iran’s tourism, including our historical, natural, cultural, and medical advantages.

Referring to the importance of developing tourism diplomacy, the minister added: “In the development of tourism, we gave priority to neighboring countries. We signed MoCs with 11 neighboring countries and presented a plan for the development of land tourism with Tajikistan, which was welcomed by the president of the country, we offered the land route and cheap tourism to the countries of Central Asia.”

“Our cultural attaches have a mission to introduce Iran’s tourist attractions and handicrafts all over the world. This is our strategy to deal with the Iran-phobic policy,” the Minister of Cultural Heritage noted.

He said that according to the World Tourism Organization estimates, it is expected tourism industry   return to its normal condition which has been affected by the COVID pandemic.

Zarghami went on to say that the ministry is pursuing some land travel for neighboring countries in order to attract more tourists from those countries. He admitted that the country despite having many historic monuments and sites has fallen behind in promoting them, adding that despite existence of 800 museums in the country they have been passive and they should show some dynamism in displaying history of the country.

He admitted that recent floods in the country has inflicted damages on the historic places in the country and some 730 places have been damaged which costs over 2,000b tomans and the country needs investment to protect these historic assets.

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According To Iran News, About 6.7 million tourists have traveled to Iran since the beginning of the current Iranian year (March 21- Nov. 21), according to the dead of the Department of Passports and Visas of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Mojtaba Karimi made the announcement on Wednesday, saying that the Foreign Ministry is ready to facilitate the process of visa issuance for incoming tourists to help boost the growing sector.

The official noted that developing tourism infrastructure, considerable investments in the tourism sector, issuance of the electronic visa and visa waiver for target countries are high on the agenda.

The ministry and Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handcrafts and Tourism Organization are holding talks with other countries to lift the visa barriers, he added.

Karimi expressed hope that the country could witness over 7.7 million tourists till the end of the current fiscal.

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According To Iran News, An Iranian deputy tourism minister says that the number of tourists from neighboring Turkey who visited Iran over the past year has increased by 35%.

Vali Teymouri, the Iranian Deputy Tourism Minister met with Mehmet Tashkin, Turkish cultural and tourism attache in Turkey’s Embassy in Tehran on Sunday to discuss the status of tourism exchanges between the two countries as well as explore ways to strengthen bilateral ties.

“Over the past year, the number of tourists arriving from Turkey to Iran has increased significantly compared to the previous year and has experienced a 35% growth compared to the same period last year,” Teymouri said.

The Turkish Cultural attache, for his part, expressed the readiness of his country to participate in the Tehran International Tourism Fair which is slated be held in the Iranian capital in February next year.

It was also agreed that a joint meeting of the Iranian-Turkish private investors active in the tourism sector be held in Tehran early next year.

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TEHRAN – Minister of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts says despite sanctions, over 4 million foreign tourists have visited Iran despite cruel U.S. sanctions.

Speaking in a forum marking the World Tourism Day held in Zahedan, Ali Asghar Mounesan said that according to the international tourism organization’s statistics, Iran tourism industry’s share from its National Gross Domestic was $11.8b in 2017.

IRAN NEWS ECONOMIC DESK

He added that in order to reach a proper index in tourism, the country needs over $21b of investment in tourism industry, adding that so far 200,000b tomans have been invested in the tourism industry.

Mounesan went on to say that 400 hotels are under construction in the country, adding that 157 hotels are four and five stars.(Over 4m Tourists Have Visited Iran)

He noted that tourism industry plays an important role in job creation, adding that one in 10 jobs in the world is related to tourism in the world.

He went on to say that tourism can be one of the major driving forces in creation of job which is one of the major concerns of the statesmen.

Mounesan added that future belongs to tourism industry, adding that Iran has good capacities in all sectors of tourism.

Such qualities made Iran a perfect destination, despite what most people assume which has roots in international propaganda.

The world Muslims are keen to travel to Iran as pilgrims, pay a visit to the holy shrines and also enjoy its natural sight-seeings and tourist attractions.

Iranian people are famous for their hospitality and all those who visit the country appreciate the culture of hospitality offered to them.

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IRAN NEWS NATIONAL DESK

He added that Iran’s tourism industry is progressing well despite the U.S.’ undermining measures, ccording to Rouhani’s candidate for the newly-established Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts.

Mounesan said the country’s tourism industry is on the right track and progressing well.

The ICHHTO has recently been changed into a ministry, and Mounesan was picked as President Rouhani’s candidate to serve as the minister.

“Around March 2018, we received a governmental notice warning about the behavior of the U.S. administration and its withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, so we started to plan accordingly so that the measures would not affect the number of tourists visiting our country,” Mounesan added.

He said one of these plans was to define new target markets.

“For instance, we implemented a one-way visa waiver with Oman. Recently, we did the same with China. From Oman alone, we received 4,700 tourists. The number has reached 12,400 tourists since the past three months,” he added.

“We have made plans and set our sight on regional markets. As of now, tourists visit Iran for receiving treatment, besides doing pilgrimages. This has brought in a lot of revenues for the country, even more so than revenues brought in by European tourists,” he said.

He also noted that the volume of investment in the tourism sector has hit 200b tomans and the figure can enhance in the future. He reiterated that tourism industry can earn the country huge revenues and it can be a sustainable source of revenue for the country while the country is under sanctions for its oil sales.

Mounesan added that according to the statistics, the number of American tourists to Tehran grew by 62 percent between 2014 and 2016 but due to the new U.S. government policy, Americans have decreased their visits to Iran.

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