With the arrival of the Corona virus in Iran and the increase in the number of patients, the tourism industry's interactions have also been severely affected.
Covid-19 disease, known as the new corona virus, has been raging in Wuhan, China since the beginning of this year, and tens of thousands have been infected there. Unfortunately, this uninvited guest has made his way to many countries, including Iran.
The disease has symptoms similar to the common cold and the flu, causing concern that no vaccine or drug has been formally discovered to treat it, and in some cases has even resulted in death.
Since it can be passed from person to person during the incubation period, that is, before the onset of symptoms, the person is unaware of his or her illness until symptoms occur. During the latency period, it is possible for the affected person to communicate or even travel. This allows the virus to be transmitted and propagated at high speeds in other cities or even countries.
There are speculations that the virus has entered Iran through Chinese travelers. Islami, a representative of Shiraz in the Islamic Consultative Assembly, said:
Since the virus has not been reported in neighboring countries, the virus has therefore entered the country through flights.
Even Health Minister Saeed Nemaki has identified Chinese carriers as the source of the virus in Iran, according to the results of the surveys.
Due to concerns about the public health of schools, universities, museums, etc., they have been closed. This uninvited guest also had a huge negative impact on Iran's tourism industry. In fact, the downturn in the Iranian tourism industry was triggered by recent events such as the collapse of the Ukrainian airliner, which had fallen by 5%, and the Corona outbreak had broken the back of tourism and hotel accommodation.
According to travel agencies, Corona had previously canceled about 2 to 5 percent of foreign tours. After the dollar jumped, foreign tours became slower in late February, with some travel agencies paying 100 per cent for tours and canceling the fines. With the arrival of Corona in Iran, the console wave of domestic tours in crowded and congested cities such as Mashhad, Isfahan and Shiraz has also begun due to travelers' concerns over crowding and the coronation. Even the caretakers of the one- or two-day nature tours have consigned their plans.
Given the close proximity of the holiday season and the shadow of Corona's nightmare to society, there is a high likelihood of a significant reduction in Nowruz travel, which would have a very negative impact on Iranian tourism. There is no doubt that hotels and travel agencies will also suffer huge losses.
On the other hand, Iran is one of the most popular destinations for Chinese tourists and therefore, the Iranian hoteliers, due to the prevailing conditions of the sanctions, expected to host a large number of Chinese tourists, but the spread of Corona and its entanglement could disrupt it. All equations were made. In this regard, Farrokh Mehr, head of the Hotel Association, says:
For a while, the Minister of Cultural Heritage had a good trip to China and reached good understanding with Chinese officials about the Chinese tourists' visit to Iran. One result of the trip was that Iranian hotels in the Chinese New Year offered a 5 percent discount to Chinese travelers, which could bring about a major change in the country's hospitality industry, but unfortunately the outbreak of Corona disrupted all plans. Despite the discounts, if the hotel occupies about 1 percent of the capacity, then we are just at the point where we can pay for the hotel, but with stagnation and reduced travel and on the other hand, foreign tourists' incomes zero, we hope to force Do not adjust the workforce.
Haramatollah Rafiei, president of the Association of Iranian Air Travel and Tourism Offices, says about the impact of Corona on domestic tourism:
The Corona outbreak had previously canceled many foreign tours. It is natural that in the current situation people are afraid to travel and prefer to stay at home, which will have a lot of damage to the country's tourism industry. Corona's arrival in Iran will surely have a 100% impact on travel cuts on the eve of Eid al-Adha, and this cannot be ignored and we cannot fool ourselves into saying that Corona has no impact on tourism.
As the number of victims and victims of the coronavirus virus increased at the time of writing this article, news of the closure of Iran's neighbors' land and air borders, cancellations of foreign and concessionary airline trips including pilgrimage, nature and foreign tours, and even cancellation of cultural programs. Foreign airlines including Turkish Airlines, Kuwait Airlines and Iraqi Airlines suspended their flights to / from Iran until further notice. Even the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kuwait has warned that citizens of this country will travel to Qom. In a similar move, Georgia also suspended its airspace for Iranian citizens to travel.
Previously, some of Iran's neighbors, including Afghanistan and Iraq, had closed their borders with Iran. Turkey, of course, has closed its land and rail borders with Iran as of today, and has made the air travel of Iranian citizens subject to a health certificate. In this regard, Ali Kashani Heydari, Director General of the Office of Communications, Information and International Affairs of Imam Khomeini Airport Company, co-ordinated the issuance of health certificates for travelers from different cities in Turkey.
Imam Khomeini International Airport reported.
Also, Armenian Prime Minister Nicole Pashinian announced that the country would close its borders with Iran and would cancel all flights from the country. The decision was made due to fears of Corona spreading. On the fourth Sunday of March, there was a news that the Armenian Embassy in Iran was suspended until further notice, albeit in a follow-up by Kajaru's correspondent on the suspension of the Embassy's activities with the outbreak of the Corona virus in Iran. Not informed.