IRAN: WELCOMING AMERICANS EVEN AS POST-ELECTION CRISIS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 RPO DUBAI 000305

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 7/29/2019
TAGS: PREL PGOV CASC IR
SUBJECT: IRAN: WELCOMING AMERICANS EVEN AS POST-ELECTION CRISIS
SPELLS TROUBLE FOR THE STRUGGLING TOURISM INDUSTRY

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CLASSIFIED BY: Kathleen McGowan, Acting Director, Iran Regional
Presence Office, DOS.
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)
1.(C) Summary: Despite claims of large numbers of foreign
tourists visiting Iran, the actual number is well below the
government figures. Government restrictions, sanctions, and
misperceptions of Iran deter tourists and make life difficult
for Iranian tour operators trying to attract American and other
foreign visitors. Two Iranian tour operators and IRPO contacts
who have recently traveled to Iran insisted that Iran has great
potential as a tourist destination. Our contacts were
captivated by the hospitality offered by Iranians anxious to
give foreign tourists a better perception of their country. End
Summary.



Few American Tourists

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2.(C) Two Iranian tour operators told IRPO recently that the
IRIG is notorious for inflating the number of foreign visitors
arriving in Iran. Last year, Iran's Cultural Heritage,
Handicrafts, and Tourism Organization (ICHHTO)announced that 2
million tourists had visited Iran, whereas the tour operators
insisted the number was closer to 50,000 ("They must be using
the same guy who counted Ahmadinejad's votes, " one of the tour
managers joked). Their firm brings between 100 to 200 Americans
to Iran each year in two distinct tourist seasons: March through
June and October through November. According to the tour
operators, although the government does not publish an official
tally, 300 to 500 Americans visit Iran each year. With such low
numbers, Americans make up a small percentage of Iran's
tourists. The tour operators said that most of Iran's tourists
are European, particularly German, Italian, and French. There
are also a great number of Japanese tourists, while Kuwaitis
represent the largest group of Arab visitors, excluding Shia
pilgrims from other Arab countries.



3.(C) The tour operators said that they preferred American
clients over other nationalities, but that getting Americans to
Iran involved negotiating the sanctions regime and the IRIG's
own torturous visa process for American citizens. Although
technically legal, the tour operators said they find it nearly
impossible to accept direct payment from American citizens
because of banking sector sanctions. Instead, their American
customers must pay a friend who runs a tourism firm in Italy;
the Tehran-based tour operators, in turn, withdraw an equivalent
amount from the Italian firm's branch in Iran. Balances are
settled at the end of each year, in a system that the tour
managers admitted "requires a great deal of trust." The tour
operators were very critical of certain sanctions, like the
prohibition of the sale of airline parts, which they said
unnecessarily jeopardized the lives of foreign tourists and
Iranians, alike. (Note: The two tour managers had planned to
travel to Yerevan on July 15 on the doomed Caspian Airlines
plane that crashed in northwest Iran. At the last minute, they
changed their flight to come to Dubai.) Attracting Americans
was difficult as well. The majority of their American customers
are referred by a handful of U.S. travel agencies through
word-of-mouth, and the tour operators said they had tried and
failed to get a visa to the U.S. to attend trade and travel
shows.



4.(C) American tourists wishing to travel to Iran must first
either join a fixed tour group or submit their own travel
itinerary to a tour operator. After the agenda is approved by
ICHHTO, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs must approve the
American tourists' visas, a requirement that is not imposed on
any other nationality. Once the MFA approves, it issues a visa
number and authorizes a specific Iranian embassy or mission
abroad, often the Iranian Interests Section in Washington, D.C.,
to process the visa. The entire process takes no more than four
weeks for Americans and the tour operators insisted that, in 12
years, they only knew of the MFA denying one or two tourist
visas for Americans, whom they suspected were journalists
attempting to evade Iran's long and complicated press credential
process. On arrival, American citizens, in addition to French
citizens, must be fingerprinted.




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5. (C) Once in Iran, Americans can extend their visa for one to
two weeks relatively easily; according to the tour operators,
the MFA will typically approve the extension in three to four
hours. If an American wants to deviate from the pre-approved
agenda, he or she must notify the ICHHTO and the MFA a day in
advance. Again, the tour operators could not recall an incident
in which an Americans' agenda adjustment was not approved.
(Note: Costs of a tour in Iran are relatively expensive. The
tour operators' standard daily rate for a single American
traveler is about USD 400, including a guide and a driver.)



6.(C) All American tourists in Iran must be accompanied by a
guide at all times, whom the ICHHTO selects from a pre-approved
list. The tour operators insisted that, despite rumors, these
guides are not "government minders." Most of them eschew
politics and have no interest in collecting intelligence on
American tourists. According to the tour operators, they are
proud of their country and enjoy "showing it off" to Americans.
The tour operators did say, however, that these pre-approved
guides are trusted by the government and have to file a report
afterwards with the ICHHTO stating that the group encountered no
problems while in Iran. Nonetheless, the tour operators
insisted that American tourists do not visit Iran "in a bubble."
Iranians love to discuss politics and the tour operators
claimed that just by walking down the street American tourists
are bound to hear many statements critical of the government.
The tour managers even related a story of a guide who brought an
American couple to a polling site in Tehran on the June 12
presidential elections and had the poll workers explain the
voting process in great detail.



IRAN'S LASTING IMPRESSION

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7.(C) IRPO contacts who recently visited Iran as tourists also
said that their guides were not minders, and that they spoke
freely, albeit privately, with Iranians they met about the
situation in the country, both before and after the election. A
Dubai-based American who traveled to Iran June 18 told us that
he and his companion were usually left alone during the evening,
and walked around Tehran and other cities unescorted, even while
protests were on-going. Another IRPO contact, an Asian
diplomat, told us that when he was in Iran just prior to the
elections, Iranians were eager to speak to him about their
country. He said his trip gave him a great appreciation for
their hospitality and Iranian culture. At the same time, he
said, he believed that Iranians felt isolated and were sensitive
to the negative image of the country that Ahmadinejad and others
had created. Both our contacts said they saw few other foreign
tourists, even in Tehran. One contact said there was a notable
presence of Chinese businessmen, however.




8. (C) The tour managers concluded that, considering current
political realities, Iran has limited potential as a tourist
destination. They complained that Iran lacks the infrastructure
and high-end hotels that Western tourists expect. The recent
post-election crisis has only further hurt their business.
According to the tour managers, the MFA placed a two-week freeze
on tourist visas for citizens of the U.S. and EU after the
outbreak of violence. The tour operators were traveling with
Americans during the demonstrations and were forced to adjust
their itineraries in order to keep them out of Tehran, before
booking them an earlier flight home. Their firm has not brought
any U.S. or UK citizens to Iran since the election. With the
Department's updated Travel Advisory, many American tour groups
have cancelled planned trips to Iran through March 2010.
Although their financial concerns are great, the tour operators,
who said they have tried to use tourism to combat the negative
images many in the world have of Iran, lamented the diplomatic
opportunities that are lost when American tourism decreases.
They said that Iranians and Americans share a cultural bond and
natural friendship, and each American they have taken to Iran
has been overwhelmed by the warm welcome he/she has received
from Iranians. They added that things would be much better for
American citizens and Iran's tourism industry if a few U.S.
diplomats were sent to man the Interests Section in Tehran
rather than the Swiss, whom they saw as bureaucratic and not so

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helpful.



COMMENT

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9. (C) While USG-sponsored exchange groups traveling to Iran
have experienced visa problems in the past, the tour operators'
experience suggests that, for the majority of American citizens
on private travel, the Iranian tourist visa process is a
relatively painless one. Although the tour managers, in the
presence of USG officials, may have downplayed the significance
of the government-appointed guide for American tourists, our
contacts seemed to corroborate the tour operators' statements,
at least for average tourists. They shared the tour operators'
view that expanded tourism could add to Americans' understanding
of the Iran beyond the headlines and an appreciation for the
friendliness of the Iranian people.
MCGOWAN