For Tourism in Iran, It Wasn't Supposed to Be Like This
With a favorable exchange rate, a famous culture of hospitality, and numerous UNESCO World Heritage Sites, Iran should be a highly sought-after destination for international travelers. But that isn’t how it has played out.
This article is the second in a five-part series.
Read Part 1 here
Iran has many enticements for the intrepid foreign traveler. With its culture and history, its cuisine and its arts, Iran is a highly desirable destination. But for many throughout the world, Iran’s negative portrayal in the media has a major impact on how it is viewed. For the past forty years, Iran has been depicted as a rogue state, an international pariah, and a land of religious fanatics chanting “Death to America” and “Death to Israel.” From George W. Bush branding Iran as a member of the “axis of evil” to Donald Trump’s designation of Iran as the world’s “leading sponsor of terrorism,” a particular narrative has taken root in Anglophone media that positions Iran as a dangerous, hostile, and unwelcoming country.
Dissenting voices, however, do exist. Most important among them are journalists, such as Dutch New York Times correspondent Thomas Erdbrink, whose 2018 Frontline special feature Our Man in Tehran, provides a much needed corrective on Iranian society, focusing on human-interest stories which show Western audiences slices of life in Iran. In vivid sequences, among many other topics, Erdbrink documents “ordinary Iranians’ love of country, love of travel, of music, of fun, the craving for respect and national stature, fascination with America, hatred of injustice, and reverence for parents.”
But perhaps even more important than journalists are travel-show hosts, who show through their own personal experiences just how transformative actually visiting Iran can be. Take for example, Anthony Bourdain, who captured the effect that being in Iran can have on perception of the place and its people in his CNN show Parts Unknown. He narrates his confusion in a street-scene montage at the beginning of his famous Iran episode: “It wasn’t supposed to be like this. Of all the places, of all the countries, of all the years of traveling, it’s here—in Iran—that I’m greeted most warmly by total strangers.” Seated at a kabob restaurant, as he rips apart a piece of noon-sangak, a popular flatbread, he says directly to the camera: “Good to be here, finally—it’s taken some time. Like, a lot of time—like, four years, I’ve been trying. Finally!” Over a shot of meat and vegetable kabobs being prepared and served, Bourdain invites the viewer to “forget about the politics for a moment, if you can,” before extoling the virtues of Iran’s rich, complex cuisine, highlighting Iranian hospitality, and noting that Iranians tend to kill guests with kindness.
While food and hospitality are featured by Bourdain, Rick Steves, another famous travel-show host, highlights the allure of Iran’s other major attraction for travelers and tourists. In the first minute of Steves’ “Iran: Yesterday and Today,” images of Persepolis appear three times, Iran’s 2500-year legacy of civilization is praised, and the viewer is primed for footage of the “splendid monuments of Iran’s rich and glorious past.”
The significance of Iran’s cultural heritage in capturing the imagination of foreign travelers is further reflected in the plot of the 2006 Iranian adaptation of My Big Fat Greek Weeding, titled in Farsi Ezdevaj be Sabk-e Irani (Marriage, Iranian Style). One day while working at her father’s tour agency, the female lead Shirin meets an American, David Howard (Davood), when he comes into the office to schedule a tour to Shiraz. The scene is painfully awkward for both characters—and the viewer, I should add—but through this brief encounter, a budding courtship begins. Shirin’s father is particularly displeased and seeks to distance the two, but her Uncle Mehdi and mother Akram-Khanoum conspire to arrange for Shirin to join the tour as a guide. The first steps of a flirtatious dance between the David and Shirin occur on the tour—upon the Apadana of Persepolis itself no less—and culminate in David’s declaration of his love for Shirin at the Tomb of Hafez. The choice of these settings is far from accidental, connecting the intercultural romance—and by extension, the relationship between the protagonists’ two countries—directly to Iranian heritage.
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The significance of Iran’s cultural heritage sites, beyond their clear symbolic importance to Iran’s national identity, is reflected not just in media representations of the country, but in the fact that tourism and cultural heritage have been coupled administratively in Iran since their merger into a single government agency in 1982. In its various organizational forms, this agency has overseen the development of a network of museums and foundations, academic departments and research centers, contractors, and traditional craft producers, as well as charitable trusts and religious endowments. In 2019, the former Organization for Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism (ICHHTO) was upgraded to the status of an official government ministry (the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts or MCTH). While my sources tell me that this has not resulted in significant changes to the structure of the organization or its personnel, it has increased its prestige, and crucially, its budget. Whatever the motives for and ultimate effects of this administrative reorganization might be, the change reflects the important role that tourism has come to play in Iran’s government, public policy, and economy.
According to Mohammad-Hossein Asgharpour, MCTH’s Director General of the Office of Facilities and Resources, in its first year, the ministry oversaw the execution of approximately 750 projects, representing investments of USD 153.6 million, providing direct employment for 7266 people. These projects include everything from the development of hotels, eco-tourism resorts, guesthouses, and health villages, to supporting museums and restoration/conservation efforts. As indicated by a recent statement from the MCTH’s Director General of the Office for Tourism Studies and Training, considerable investments are being made in capacity-building and human capital. In the first six months of the Iranian year 1399 (2020-21), at least 10,000 stakeholders and professionals attended trainings sponsored by the Ministry in a range of domains. These include workshops on topics such as: facilities management, ecotourism and sustainability, applications of new technologies, quality management, financial management, etiquette and hospitality, and training and retraining tour guides. While it is difficult to ascertain the exact proportion of the ministry’s budget spent on human capital and tourism, as opposed to heritage protection, preservation, restoration, and research, there can be no doubt that archaeological sites and museums are a major draw for tourists and represent focal points of infrastructural investment in the tourism industry.
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With a favorable exchange rate, a famous culture of hospitality, and numerous UNESCO World Heritage Sites, not to mention all the investment outlined above, Iran should by all accounts be a highly sought-after destination for international travelers. Major tour operators targeting foreign tourists are certainly keen to highlight Iran’s cultural heritage on their websites and in their advertising. These firms emphasize above all else the depth of history and culture in Iran, spotlighting ancient monuments as well as Iran’s rich artistic and architectural traditions. One operator currently provides seven main tour packages, three of which are specifically focused on heritage, but all of which involve visiting heritage sites. Another tour leads its pitch with an invitation to experience “the wondrous remains of the ancient capital of Persepolis – the scale and grandeur will leave you in no doubt that this was once the center of the known world.” Welcome to Iran’s Iran Historical Tours describes Iran as a land with an “ancient civilization, rich history, [and] historical monuments,” highlighting Iran’s archaeological heritage as a particular draw for tourists interested in art and history.
English-speaking tourists who might have come into contact with this advertising copy, however, constitute only a fraction of all the tourists traveling to and within Iran. After the United States pulled out of the JCPOA, despite specific targeted attempts to attract foreign tourists to Iran from Europe and China, arrivals from these countries decreased by 25-40%, whereas arrivals from neighboring countries such as Iraq, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Turkey, Pakistan, and Turkmenistan increased substantially. According to MCTH, many of these “tourists” are actually pilgrims, who have come to Iran to experience the country’s Islamic—rather than ancient—heritage. In terms of visas issued, the number of pilgrims exceeded tourists in 1396 (2017-18) by approximately 100,000, and in 1397 (2018-2019) by over 1 million.
Regardless of the origins and motivations of tourists coming to Iran, heritage is clearly a draw and is recognized as potentially big business. Prior to and immediately following the signing of the JCPOA, experts and policymakers had hoped that the tourism industry would not only benefit from the normalization of Iran’s international relations, but in fact become a central part of the Iranian economy, providing a sustainable base for employment and revenue for years to come. By MCTH’s own accounting, nearly 1.3 million people are employed in the tourism industry in Iran. In 2016, the economic activity of the sector represented approximately 2 percent of the country’s GDP and all indicators suggest that it continued to grow until early 2020. Before COVID-19 struck, despite American sanctions, the Iranian heritage and tourism sector was flourishing, attracting 8 million foreign tourists in the Iranian calendar year 1397 (2018-19). This represents significant growth from ten years prior, when Iran recorded only 3 million foreign arrivals.
Ultimately, it appears that American sanctions did not significantly slow the arrival of foreign tourists to Iran, though it may have had an impact on who visited Iran and from where. In the first three months of 1399 (2020-21), however, only 74 foreign tourists visited Iran, and with inter-provincial travel subject to stiff restrictions, the tourism industry has been one of the hardest hit by the pandemic, with estimates of losses across the industry exceeding two billion dollars in the first six months of 1399. Regardless of the pandemic, however, because of the pressure of sanctions, the MCTH’s long-term strategic outlook was already focused on fostering the growth of domestic tourism as a pillar of sustainable development. Between 1397 (2018-19) and 1398 (2019-20), domestic tourism reportedly increased by 20 percent. Two European colleagues related that between 2016-2018, while there were increased numbers of Italian, French, German, and Chinese tourists visiting the sites where they were working, the overwhelming majority of tourists were Iranian. It is important to note, however, that while there is substantial domestic demand, spending by Iranian nationals is seen to be lower than that of foreign visitors, even though foreign tourists must travel with cash as it is presently impossible to make payments using international credit cards. Despite obstacles to capitalizing on the available opportunities and the Coronavirus pandemic, this sector is still seen by policymakers as one with great potential for growth.
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At the present juncture, however, it is difficult to gauge the direct and specific effect of American sanctions on the economics of the Iranian cultural heritage management sector. But by recognizing the importance of Iranian cultural heritage to the tourism industry and examining the impact of American policy on that sector, we can obliquely approximate the consequences of maximum pressure on heritage management. Currently, it appears that American sanctions have had two outcomes: first, there has been a decrease in foreign tourists from Europe and China coupled with an increase in foreign tourists from neighboring countries, presumably for pilgrimage; and second, policymakers have shifted their attention to stimulating demand for domestic tourism. By all measures, however, the industry has been severely handicapped by the COVID-19 pandemic, suffering job losses estimated at around 13,000 by August 2020 among tour guides alone, not to mention in hotels and travel agencies. Prognoses for the future remain bleak, as demand is not likely to rebound soon, and promised government support for the industry has been slow to materialize.
Yet, the importance of tourism for improving Iran’s image on the world stage is clear. According to the results of MCHT-internal surveys, tourists reported a “very positive view” of Iran after visiting, noting how much their opinion of the country had changed after seeing it with their own eyes, rather than through the lens of the media. Ali Asghar Mounesan, the Minister in charge of MCTH, recently observed that tourists are cultural ambassadors all over the world, but nowhere more so than in Iran. Indeed, according to Mounesan, tourism has the ability to bring nations closer together. Iran’s heritage plays a role in cultural diplomacy that goes far beyond tourism, however. In the next article in this series, we will explore in greater depth the impact of American sanctions on museum exchanges and inter-institutional cooperation in the heritage sector.
Click here to read Part 3 of this five-part series.
Photo: Wikicommons
American Policy Casts a Shadow Over Persepolis
American sanctions have created significant challenges for cultural heritage sector in Iran, particularly in the domains of tourism, heritage diplomacy, and international scientific cooperation. The continued study and preservation of Iran’s remarkable cultural heritage is at risk.
This article is the first in a five-part series.
Five years ago, I traveled to Iran to attend a conference in Tehran, The International Congress of Young Archaeologists (ICYA). It was my second time participating in this biannual event, which was and is the most important conference for students and early career researchers specializing in Iranian archaeology. On my first trip in 2013, I was one of only three Americans who made the journey; on the second, there were more than twenty. The difference was largely due to the atmosphere of openness in the immediate post-Nuclear Deal era. I, like many of my colleagues, was guardedly optimistic about the opportunity and the possibilities that this conference and the sideline meetings surrounding it represented. In a meeting with the then director of archaeological research at the Iranian Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization, the message conveyed to those of us assembled was one of welcome and excitement. It seemed at the time that American archaeology in Iran, a field that had lain mostly dormant for four decades, was perhaps being reborn.
These two trips were marked by a pair of major diplomatic events. The first was the famous phone call between Hassan Rouhani and Barack Obama after the UN General Assembly in September 2013, which occurred, auspiciously, the same day that I received my visa invitation to attend the ICYA for the first time. The second trip coincided with “Adoption Day,” October 18, 2015, when the terms of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA, a.k.a. the “Nuclear Deal”) became binding, transforming the deal from an agreement on paper to a policy reality. With a sense of occasion, I rushed out to the nearest kiosk and purchased a copy of every paper they had for sale. Headlines that day announced, among other things, the first foreign capital investment permit issued after the JCPOA, for a German-Iranian joint venture in a chalk mine in Fars province. While Adoption Day was not celebrated in the streets the way the signing of the deal in July had been, that day in October was seen, at least by reformist-leaning newspaper editors, as the beginning of the end of sanctions.
For me personally, that day in October 2015 appeared to be the beginning of a career as an archaeologist working in Iran. I had just returned from a short excursion with a potential collaborator after the conference. The trip went well, resulting in an invitation for me to participate in his project, so long as I was able to pay my own way over the years that it would take to conduct my dissertation research and write it up. In the end, of course, this did not come to pass. I returned to the US and set to work designing a research proposal and preparing grant applications. The annual application deadline for the main funding source for archaeological field research in my discipline is the first of November. In 2016, a week after applications were due, Donald Trump was elected president. Among his first policies after inauguration was Executive Order 13769, officially titled “Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States,” but popularly known as the “Muslim Ban.”
I have not been back to Iran since. I knew that specializing in Iranian archaeology was a risky career move, even at the best of times, but I had expected the majority of difficulties to come on the Iranian side, in the form of red tape around visa applications and permissions to access sites and collections. In the end, it turned out to be American policy that upended my carefully laid plans. Ultimately, Trump’s Iran policy forced me to completely reshape the trajectory of my academic research. While I continued to work on Iranian archaeology, I had to use different materials and methods, focusing instead on museum collections and satellite imagery to collect the data I had intended to pursue in the field. But more than this, the experience imparted to me a deep awareness of the impact of geopolitics on the field of archaeology. More broadly, these events have given me insight into the human toll of American policy toward Iran. This article, with the four that will follow, represent a moment of pause and reflection on the past five years, an attempt to make sense of the challenges and opportunities that the field of archaeology in Iran faces as a result of American foreign policy.
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American sanctions and the Trump administration’s “maximum pressure” campaign have not only failed to achieve their stated objectives to choke off revenues to the so-called regime, but have also caused considerable collateral damage in Iran’s economy. While American policy-makers rail against Iran’s “malign activities” and regional footprint, Iranian officials have entrenched themselves in a defensive posture, promoting a “resistance” economy to overcome the imposed restrictions on the country’s participation in the global market. Ordinary Iranians are caught in the crossfire of this geopolitical stand-off. They face difficulties ranging from disruptions in accessing medicine and humanitarian aid to natural disaster relief. Partisans and detractors alike agree that American sanctions are strangling the Iranian economy and threatening the livelihoods of millions of civilians.
One area of Iran’s economy and society which has been little discussed in conversations on the impact of maximum pressure sanctions is the cultural heritage sector. Cultural heritage is significant for any country’s national identity, and this is nowhere more true than in Iran, which has 24 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, a robust set of heritage institutions, and a public deeply invested in its history. The importance of Iran’s national patrimony is clearly reflected in Donald Trump’s January 2020 threat to strike 52 Iranian heritage sites if Iran were to target American troops, citizens, or assets in Iraq in retaliation for the assassination of Qassem Soleimani. The specific number of targets is no accident—it was the number of Americans held in the embassy seizure of 1979—nor is the threat to strike Iranian heritage sites in particular a coincidence. Iran’s cultural heritage is viewed as among the nation’s greatest contributions to world civilization and its most effective ambassador in a time of international isolation.
Beyond matters of cultural identity and geopolitics, however, cultural heritage has become more important than ever in Iran over the past five years. This is in no small part due to the close relationship between Iranian cultural heritage management and the tourism industry. Tourism and heritage are linked explicitly in the public relations messaging of the newly formed Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism (MCHT). MCHT Minister Ali Asghar Mounesan recently stated that “tourism is the most important channel for the transmission of Iranian culture to the world.” Iran’s heritage is seen by policymakers not only as an important part of Iran’s foreign relations, but also as an indispensable resource for an industry viewed as a potential growth engine in an economy hamstrung by sanctions. Under the current regime of sanctions, the promotion of tourism—both domestic and foreign—has come to be seen as a key component of the Iranian resistance economy. This in turn calls for an analysis of the sector’s condition and current prospects under American sanctions and maximum pressure.
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The articles in this series will therefore investigate the impact of American policy on cultural heritage management in Iran, in particular as it relates to the three domains of tourism, heritage diplomacy, and international scientific cooperation. Generally, American sanctions and maximum pressure have created extreme challenges for those working in these areas at every level, from government ministers and policymakers to museum directors, from archaeology professors to tour guides and hospitality workers.
Several trends have arisen in response to these policies. In the case of heritage and tourism, the industry was growing rapidly in Iran prior to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. As it turns out, most of this growth was from domestic tourists and religious pilgrims from neighboring countries. After the signing of the JCPOA, policymakers in MCHT had hoped to attract more European and Chinese tourists, who are perceived as bigger spenders than domestic and regional tourists. Between 2015 and 2017, there did seem to be growing numbers of these tourists, but they dwindled after the US backed out of the Nuclear Deal, and appear to have bottomed out after the reimposition of broad-spectrum sanctions in 2018.
With regard to intergovernmental and interinstitutional heritage diplomacy, Iran’s cultural heritage has historically played an important role in its foreign relations. From the Persepolis Celebration of 1971, to the Cyrus Cylinder’s tour of American and Iranian museums in 2013 (the cylinder is held by the British Museum), and more recent joint exhibitions at the Victoria & Albert and the Louvre, Iran’s heritage has been used to position the country as an important member of the world community. American policy toward Iran has created an extraordinarily unstable environment for such exchanges, complicating the delivery of objects and the travel of personnel. In a time when American policy seeks to isolate Iran on the global stage, heritage professionals and diplomats are at great pains to highlight Iran’s contributions to world history and to educate their audiences and stakeholders about Iran’s civilizational legacy. The current sanctions regime means that exchanges of objects are not only expensive and logistically complex, but also vulnerable to interruption due to rising tensions and fears about the potential for armed conflict. Nevertheless, despite many challenges and difficulties, heritage diplomacy is seen as a potential avenue for rapprochement and the improvement of ties. Such exhibitions have managed to continue for now, but at great expense and risk. It appears unlikely that an event such as the Cyrus Cylinder’s tour of the US will be possible in the near future, despite the fact that such exchanges are exactly what is needed in these times.
There is another form of heritage diplomacy made complex by American policy: international cooperative research in the field of archaeology. While foreign scientists face a range of difficulties in conducting joint expeditions with their Iranian counterparts due to American policy, these pale in comparison to the obstacles faced by Iranian scholars. In addition to pressuring the Iranian economy in general, sanctions, travel bans, and related policies are squeezing the lifeblood out of this profession. My sources—both Iranian and foreign—tell me that while there is money available for investment in tourism infrastructure and heritage restoration, there is very little funding for basic archaeological research beyond rescue and salvage operations to recover materials that would otherwise be destroyed by development activities. Consequently, Iranian archaeologists have little choice other than to seek out international collaborators to gain access to the funding needed to conduct question-driven field research and perform laboratory analyses. Under present conditions, however, it is extraordinarily difficult to engage in the joint labor of performing the field research necessary to produce archaeological knowledge. This has serious downstream consequences. Without the work of archaeologists and related specialists—including conservators, curators, and other museum professionals—neither tourism initiatives nor high-level diplomatic exchanges would be possible.
Despite the present nadir in US-Iranian relations, there are signs of hope. There is great will among the invested stakeholders, professionals, and researchers to continue to cooperate across borders regardless of American policy. How are they faring and what are their prospects? Could Iran’s past be the key to its future? Heritage workers will be the first to tell you that international engagement with Iran’s heritage has previously been an important vector for establishing and improving ties, even under difficult circumstances. By maintaining relations in the face of maximum pressure, heritage professionals are doing what they can to keep open one of the last remaining channels of communication between Iranian civil society and the global community. Hopefully, these connections will survive current conditions and Iran’s cultural heritage could yet again be a well-traveled bridge between nations.
Click here to read Part 2 of this five-part series.
Photo: Wikicommons
Shutters Come Down for Iran’s Cafés and Restaurants
While Iran’s economy has struggled over the last two years, the country has nonetheless seen a boom in new restaurant and café openings, especially in the bustling capital, Tehran. But the COVID-19 outbreak has brought the shutters down at establishments across the country, leaving the owners to wonder if they will ever open again.
While Iran’s economy has struggled over the last two years, the country experienced a boom in new restaurant and café openings, especially in the bustling capital, Tehran. Even in times of financial hardship, a foodie culture has seen Iranians of all walks of life enthusiastically patronize new restaurants, cafés, and fast-food joints.
But the COVID-19 outbreak, which has now led to the infection of more than 15,000 Iranians according to official figures, has brought the shutters down at establishments across the country, leaving the owners to wonder if they will ever open again.
“Many businesses will not be able to survive this crisis if it lasts for a month or two. Even if they survive, the crisis will lead to layoffs and a sharp surge in prices,” said Shahram Rajabi, owner of Sakura Sushi Restaurant, which is located in Ava Center, a mall in the upscale Aqdasiyeh neighborhood of Tehran.
Rajabi owns two other food businesses in Ava Center—a bakery and a café. In total, he employs 70 people—it is not clear how much longer he can afford to keep them on the payroll. “Only the bakery is still open. Sales have dropped 80 percent, but we have kept the doors open. The café and restaurant’s employees are all on paid leave.”
Nowruz—a two-week period during with Iranians celebrate the new year—is fast approaching. Before Iran found itself in the midst of a public health crisis, bakeries were already working around the clock to prepare the confections and treats that Iranians traditionally enjoy during the holiday. But this year there is little cause for celebration.
“With the fear of coronavirus hanging over everything, no one is in the mood to celebrate. People aren’t buying ready-made confectionaries. These businesses will be forced to dump what they had baked. All that money and effort will go to waste,” Rajabi said. “The pandemic is taking a harsh toll on businesses and is pushing many to the verge of bankruptcy. I don’t know how long we can survive,” he added.
Social Media Outreach
Behzad Mosayyebi is the owner of Café Hedayat in Shiraz, where he employs around 25 people. He too is struggling to keep his business afloat.
“A week after news broke about COVID-19 spreading in Iran, our sales plummeted by 70 percent. Initially, we tried to keep business going but a week into the outbreak, with sales nose-diving we were forced to shutter the café,” Mosayyebi said.
Currently, his employees are on paid leave. “Employees are the most valuable assets of any business. We have invested in training our staff. But if the situation does not improve in a month or so we’ll be forced to let our staff go.”
Mosayyebi acknowledged that even after the epidemic is over, the café might need to hike prices to cover its losses—but he hopes his customers will remain loyal even if they go weeks or months without visiting.
In order to keep his clientele engaged, Mosayyebi has launched a campaign on Instagram, which features his employees and social media influencers offering easy recipes and cooking tutorials for everything from dal to pasta.
Other restaurants have also launched similar campaigns. Vitrin Kitchen, a trendy eatery located in Tehran’s A.S.P Towers, recently closed in light of the spread of COVID-19. Vitrin’s chef, Armin Milani, has self-quarantined at home. But from his kitchen, he continues to keep the restaurant’s Instagram active by posting pictures of his latest creations, accompanied by short reflections on being in isolation. His posts reach over 60,000 followers.
Some restaurants, especially fast-food chains, have endeavored to remain open despite the outbreak. These establishments have turned to social media to reassure buyers that they are doing their best to keep their food “COVID-19 Free.” Popular burger joint Burgerator has posted a video on Instagram that shows the body temperature of its staff being checked and explains how “every surface is sanitized.” The video ends with a tag line, “We care for you.”
Famous fast-food chain Barooj is sending out text messages to customers announcing a new offer: “half-cooked” pizza. Customers are meant to finish cooking the pizza in their home oven. The text message explains that “high temperature kills coronavirus.” One of the oldest delivery pizza shops in Tehran, Dar-be-Dar, has likewise started selling par-baked pizza.
Perseverance
Just a few days after Iran announced its first confirmed case of COVID-19, employees at Yerma House café off Karimkhan Street in downtown Tehran, were geared-up with latex gloves and face masks.
Located in a chic pre-Islamic Revolution building, Yerma House is part gallery and part café. A large self-portrait by Frida Kahlo dominates the space and the aroma of freshly roasted coffee and spices usually waft through the air.
Startled by the staff’s appearance, a customer asked “what was the hassle for.” The cashier, her headscarf fashioned as a turban, replied, “We are just trying to keep you safe, love.” Later the same day, the manager decided to shutdown the café until further notice.
Yerma’s manager, Neda Hengami, is worried. “The COVID-19 outbreak hit us hard. Right now I am trying to help people get through the crisis and pass time while social distancing by conducting a writing contest.”
Hengami feels a responsibility to sustain the business and find a way to keep paying her employees as they face difficult times. She said that she is considering setting up a take-away-only service. “But I’m not certain whether it’d work. We can’t do much, can we?”
At the end of the interview she recalled a passage from Strait is the Gate, a novel written at the turn of the 20th century by André Gide. “I read the book ages ago,” she explained. “There is a section where Gide describes a Bible sermon.” Hengami proceeded to quote from memory: “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat. Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”
“The passage has stuck with me over the years. It has helped me through the hard times,” she said.
Photo: IRNA
International Airlines Are Leaving Iran. Here’s Why.
◢ News that British Airways and Air France are axing their service to Iran was met by anger from Iranians, who felt the airlines were bowing to political pressure from the Trump administration. To better understand whether commercial or political considerations are driving these decisions, Bourse & Bazaar spoke to an executive from one of the international airlines now withdrawing from Iran. The executive’s account provides a more precise picture of why numerous airlines have determined that flying to Tehran is no longer commercially viable.
Iranians reacted with anger and frustration to the news that British Airways will suspend its service to Iran from September 23. Soon after, news came that Air France would axe its service on September 18. As reported by the Washington Post, some Iranians expressed a feeling of being “imprisoned in the country” as they learned that international airlines were leaving Iran. Hamid Baeidinejad, Iran’s Ambassador to the United Kingdom, responded to British Airway's withdrawal more pragmatically, noting his hope that “Iran Air, with its three weekly direct flights to London, can seize the opportunity and fill the gap.”
The news appears to reflect further instances of multinational companies withdrawing from Iran in the face of returning U.S. sanctions while bowing to the political pressure exerted by the Trump administration. Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu took this view, stating about the withdrawals, "That's good. More should follow, more will follow, because Iran should not be rewarded for its aggression in the region.”
But the airlines have communicated that commercial and not political factors were paramount in the decision to withdraw. The British Airways statement described their London to Tehran route as "currently not commercially viable.” Air France echoed “poor commercial viability.” KLM has pointed to "negative results and financial outlook.” Some Iranians, observing regularly full flights, have questioned the honesty of these statements.
To better understand whether commercial or political considerations are driving these decisions, Bourse & Bazaar spoke to an executive of one of the international airlines now withdrawing from Iran. The executive asked not to be named given the sensitivity of the issues at hand.
The executive’s account provides a more precise picture of why numerous airlines have determined that flying to Tehran is no longer commercially viable. These claims are not a fig leaf for politically motivated decisions, nor attempts to downplay legal barriers posed by returning sanctions (which are minimal). Instead, over the last few months, larger economic forces arose that made routes operating at high passenger loads unattractive, at least relative to the option of redeploying aircraft other routes worldwide.
As Amir Noorbaksh has written for Bourse & Bazaar, the influx of international carriers into Iran led to increased competition. Such competition depressed airfares in the short term. Airlines knew that it would be “difficult to become profitable quickly" and had expected to “wait at least two years in order to break even,” the executive explains. But by early 2018, the break-even point remained out of reach.
International carriers had expected that the growth in business and tourist travel to and from Iran would boost demand and help drive airfares upward over time. But the stalling post-sanctions economic recovery, slowed in part by President Trump’s decision to decertify the Iran nuclear deal in October as well as domestic factors, meant that the projected growth in passenger numbers was failing to materialize.
In response, as the first quarter of this year came to a close, most international carriers active in Iran began to plan reductions in their service in order to better match supply with demand. Austrian Airlines pursued a realignment of the airline’s portfolio by suspending flights to Esfahan and Shiraz. KLM planned to suspend its flights and Air France opted to run a reduced service after switching the operation of the Paris-Tehran route to Joon, a subsidiary. British Airways likewise planned to reduce the frequency of its flights.
These adjustments should have enabled the international airlines to increase airfares in the market by addressing oversupply, bringing profitability back within reach for the sector. But the adjustments coincided with President Trump’s withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal and an acceleration in Iran’s currency crisis.
The falling value of the rial had two important effects for international airlines. First, it significantly decreased demand. Not only were airfares more expensive as the purchasing power of the rial declined, but Iranians were also struggling to get reliable access to the hard currency they need in order to spend freely when abroad. Majid Nejad, CEO of Alibaba.ir, Iran’s leading online travel website, told the Washington Post that “compared with the same period last year, bookings to foreign destinations from Iran have fallen by half.”
Second, as the rial lost value, the revenues accrued by international airlines in Iran also lost value. In order to mitigate the foreign exchange risk, some international airlines began to market tickets locally only at the highest booking classes (an airline industry price categorization). Those few Iranians with access to foreign banks cards could still purchase tickets at any booking class online, accessing cheaper fares. Nonetheless, the move to increase prices hit demand.
But even if higher fares could protect revenues from devaluation in the short-term, the airlines faced long-standing issues around repatriation of revenues. Last week, the Iranian Civil Aviation Organization announced that international airlines would need to buy euros at the market rate, contradicting an earlier assurance provided by the Central Bank of Iran that foreign currency would be available to the airlines at the lower government exchange rate. The executive notes that a “lack of clear communication from the central bank and aviation authority proved one of the most frustrating aspects of the whole episode.”
In any case, airlines struggled to convert their rial holdings into foreign currency at whatever the rate. The airlines executive believes that when airlines sought to convert their rial holdings in accounts at banks such as Saman Bank and Parsian Bank, the central bank failed to make the foreign currency available because they either “did not have sufficient foreign currency on hand” or “were opting to build up reserves for more critical industries like the pharmaceutical sector.” As rial-denominated revenues languished in Iran, airlines saw their losses mount, and the routes were no longer commercially viable.
For context, the executive impresses that “business is good in the aviation industry worldwide right now” and that for airline executive committees dealing with the headache of operating in Iran, the option to simply reassign an aircraft and flight crew to another more profitable route became increasingly appealing.
For now, Lufthansa and Alitalia are continuing their services to Iran. For these European holdouts, the withdrawal of their competitors could offer a reprieve, reducing competition and perhaps helping to stabilize airfares. European governments, which have been actively involved in the challenges faced by their national carriers since January, remain politically supportive. Of course, Iran Air will benefit. Iran's national carrier announced route expansions in May in an effort to win back market share from the international players.
No doubt, sanctions contributed to the withdrawal of international airlines out of Iran, but not for the political or legal reasons readily assumed. Rather, international airlines would have persisted in their service to Iranian destinations, emboldened by political support from European governments, had it not been for the intractable issues surrounding commercial viability.
While the withdrawal from Iran essentially came down to fundamental commercial calculations, the executive makes sure to relay that the decision to cease operating in Iran was nonetheless difficult to make. In his words, nothing was more painful than “how deeply unfair the whole situation is for our team members in Iran.” Like many other young and talented Iranians, those let go by the international carriers will be wondering "what next?"
Photo Credit: Wikicommons
Culture and Tourism in Iran: Lessons from Italy
Cultural tourism can play a big role in improving relations between Iran and the international community. Iran can follow the Italian example in order to maximize the commercial opportunity in protecting and sharing the nation's cultural patrimony.
In this day and age, cultural tourism plays a crucial role in establishing relations between countries. Awareness is spreading about the amazing opportunities that a prudent enhancement of the cultural patrimony can deliver. The connections between diplomatic relations, commercial opportunity, and touristic exchanges are powerfully joined in the idea of cultural tourism.
Iran and Italy are two countries that are both heirs and custodians of a huge historic, artistic, and cultural heritage. In fact the preservation of such heritage has been recently been the basis for close collaboration. Italian archaeologists have worked on sites in Persepolis and Esfahan among others. The Citadel of Bam earned UNESCO World Heritage status shortly after the devastating 2003 earthquake, largely because of the reconstruction efforts of the Italian Istituto Superiore per la Conservazione ed il Restauro.
But cultural exchange is much more than a commitment to history. Cultural exchange can be a useful means of supporting the dialogue among civilizations necessary to establish a model for development and growth informed by and linked to a national heritage.
I would summon, in this regard, two scenarios where the Iranian culture has recently been able to introduce itself globally as an absolute excellency, while still showing openness to interaction with other national cultures, starting with Italian culture itself.
The first scenario is exemplified by the film industry, in which Iranian directors have been acclaimed among the world cinematic masters. These master filmmakers include Abbas Kiarostami and Mohsen Makhmalbaf, whose works have been applauded and awarded by the most important international film festivals, including the Venice Film Festival. Jafar Panahi triumphed in 2000, winning the Leone D’Or for his film The Circle. In 2008, Abbas Kiaorastami won a special honor for his remarkable contribution to cinema.
Iranian contemporary art has also made its way to Italy and the city of Ferrara, where, in 2010, six Iranian world-renowned women artists had exhibited their work as part of the Fourteenth Biennale Donna.
Reflecting on the origins of Iranian contemporary art, I also think about the exceptional importance of Iranian craftsmanship which constitutes a heritage of incredible artistic value by itself, and which should definitely be more acknowledged and appreciated worldwide, as it is one of the foundations of Iran’s national identity.
These are just a few examples of the relevance and the richness of the Iranian civilization, which could become the premise for a virtuous exchange between the civilizations of countries—even those seemingly different in regard to sensibilities and culture.
On this point, I quote a passage from the memorable speech given by President Mohammed Khatami to the United Nations on September 5th, 2000, during a round table about dialogue among civilizations:
In order to provide natural unity and harmony in form and content for global culture and to prevent anarchy and chaos, all concerned parties should engage in a dialogue in which they can exchange knowledge, experience and understanding in diverse areas of culture and civilization. Today it is impossible to bar ideas from freely travelling between cultures and civilizations in disparate parts of the world. However, in the absence of dialogue among thinkers, scholars, intellectuals and artists from various cultures and civilizations, the danger of cultural homelessness seems imminent. Such a state of cultural homelessness would deprive people of solace both in their own culture and in the vast open horizon of global culture.
While I was serving my country as Minister of Cultural Assets and Activities and of Tourism, I went on an official trip to Iran. On that occasion— and during a subsequent trip— I had the chance to recognize and appreciate the greatness of the Iranian cultural heritage. My experience made it clear that by leveraging strength of its cultural heritage Iran could stand to develop a valuable tourism model. As my former ministerial title demonstrates, the relationship between culture and tourism has been vital to Italy’s economy. The tourism sector contributes about 10% of the country’s overall GDP. Iran ought to follow in the Italian model to protect its cultural heritage, even if the pursuit of economic interests is a primary aim.
The bond between culture and tourism in Iran is clear and undeniable. Iranian artistic and environmental heritage represents one of the key resources for the creation of a sustainable tourism model, as it defines the country's identitarian traits as an attractive destination. If Iran’s heritage is properly utilized as one of the country’s fundamental touristic levers, inbound tourism would become an exceptional way to guarantee international awareness about its cultural assets, promoting efforts and providing funding to preserve and protect cultural heritage. The fruitful link between culture and tourism would emerge as a virtuous cycle, one that can enhance the potentialities of both areas, without undermining their complex and specific peculiarities.
I firmly believe that tourism related policies in Iran should follow the path of environmental, cultural and social sustainability in order to produce vital income and employment. Looking to successful practices in Italy would be my best possible advice. Future Iranian tourism policies must be correctly devised, so that development is truly respectful of the artistic and historical landscape.
In this way, Iranian tourism could represent both a means of economic growth and means to present a new image of Iran, which might overcome the prejudices towards the country to which Western nations are often induced. The point is to consider every cultural asset as a unique public good, deserving of protection and investment.
Such a commitment, by the way, is already written in the history of Iran, with its tradition of public endowments. Devising renewed commitment to public goods, and how they ought to be developed involves the analysis of the whole Iranian political, economical and social system. Cultural and environmental assets cannot be mere treasures, tightly owned and exploited.
Tourists are becoming harder to please as consumer characteristics like income, tastes, and habits diversify. Such demand could be only satisfied by similarly diversifying the possible combinations of Iran’s cultural offerings, adjusting them to more and more complex requests. To do this work, private enterprise will need to bring its energy and expertise to the table, forging new public-private partnerships. It would be also advisable to enact specific tourism policies, which promote innovation through the application of new technologies.
The future of Iran's inbound tourism will be determined by the ability to build networks, which must reflect the true potential of a country both rich in history and eagerly awaiting the future. Government bodies, private businesses, community organizations, academic institutions, and other stakeholders must actively seek synergies in the spirit of cooperation. The project to preserve and promote Iranian cultural heritage is both crucial and thrilling.
Photo Credit: Farzad Gavari
