Iran, most efficient destination for foreign tourists: Report

The World Economic Forum (WEF) has reported for a third straight year that Iran's tourism industry has the most affordable prices for foreign visitors in the world.

According to the WEF biannual report, Iran scored 66.6 in price competitiveness, which means the country’s tourism is more cost-effective than tourist destinations such as Egypt, Malaysia, Russia, Turkey, Greece, Spain, Italy, France and the US.

The report put Peru, Australia, Denmark, Senegal, Norway, Iceland, Barbados, Britain and Switzerland among the 10 most expensive countries at the bottom of the list.

WEF’s "Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index 2017” computes the price competitiveness of countries by comparing costs relating to travel to and from a destination and those relating to prices within the tourism destination.

WEF also gave Iran a ranking of 38 in cultural resources, which includes the number of World Heritage natural sites, total known species and total protected areas as well as attractiveness of natural assets.

A number of European countries, including the Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Romania and Norway follow Iran in the same category.

The report shows that Iran’s travel and tourism competitiveness ranking had by and large improved during the past two years.

Enhanced ICT infrastructure, lower price, partial improvement in international sincerity and some progress in taking care of cultural heritage have created better conditions to develop the tourism sector in Iran.

MG/AI