Iran is making a push to attract wealthy overseas visitors to boost its sanctions-hit economy at the same time Tehran begins a new campaign to force women to wear the Islamic headscarf and morality police return to the streets.
The Islamic republic is hoping to draw more visitors from Russia and China to its ancient sites that date back to the Persian empire and the fabled Silk Road, industry figures quoted by AFP say.
“In the past, we were receiving many tourists from Europe but now those numbers have seen a sharp decline,” said one Tehran travel agency owner, 46-year-old Hamid Shateri.
Europeans are “afraid of visiting Iran”, he told the outlet, after years of tensions over the country’s contested nuclear programme and after Western government warnings against travelling there.
Iranian women walk in a street in Tehran on April 10, 2023. Police in Iran said on April 8 they plan to use “smart” technology in public places to identify and then penalise women who violate the country’s strict Islamic dress code. (ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)
Closed-circuit television cameras line a street in Tehran on April 10, 2023. Police in Iran said they plan to use “smart” technology in public places to identify and then penalise women who violate the country’s strict Islamic dress code. (ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)
The strict dress code for women and bans on alcohol and nightlife that came in after the 1979 Islamic Revolution also remain as stumbling blocks for visitors from other parts of the world.
“These days, mostly Chinese and Russian people visit Iran’s historical sites and spectacular scenery and Arab tourists, especially from Iraq, come to attend religious ceremonies,” Shateri said.
Iran has also jailed several Europeans, prompting multiple Western countries to advise their citizens against all travel there, many citing the risk of “arbitrary detention” at the same time Tehran declares death to any and all of its foreign oppo0nents.
Last year Iran attracted 4.1 million foreigners — less than half the figure for 2019 and accounting for just 0.4 percent of tourist trips worldwide, says the U.N. World Tourism Organisation.
The new plea for tourists follows Iranian authorities on Sunday announcing a new campaign to force women to wear the Islamic headscarf.
Morality police have also returned to the streets 10 months after the death of a woman in their custody sparked nationwide protests, as Breitbart News reported.
Three Iranian women bathe in the sea on a shore of the Caspian sea in the city of Babolsar north of Tehran, on July 14, 2023 in Babolsar, Iran. (Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)
On Sunday, Gen. Saeed Montazerolmahdi, a police spokesman, said the morality police would resume notifying and then detaining women not wearing hijab in public.
In Tehran, the men and women of the morality police could be seen patrolling the streets in marked vans.