Thursday, April 29, 2010

Iranian fruits and gardens

Iran has a vast majority of food and fruit products. because of the variety of climates from hot and sandy deserts to crowded jungles and 100% humid places, this wide divergence has occurred.
most of Iranian farms and gardens are producing organic fruits. comparing to Genetically Modified fruits I've seen in Europe, Iranian fruits are more juicy and tasty.

in the picture: a native Orange and Citrus fruit whole seller in Ramsar city
Iran produces Orange, lemon and other citrus fruits in north of Iran, mostly in Mazandaran, also Kiwi, Tea leaves, rice and Banana over there. Apple, Pear and Peach in Damavand, Taleghan etc. Pistachio and Pomegranate in Yazd and Saveh, Watermelon and melon in Mashhad etc. Dates are produced in southern Iranian cities like Ahwaz and Abadan.
in North west or Iran, especially Tabriz city Iran produces dried fruits, mostly exported to Turkey, Persian Gulf coast countries and Europe.

Kiwi and Orange
Iran imports some fruits as well, like fruits from South East Asia which we don't have in Iran etc. but the mostly confusing thing is we import Apple, Orange and rice as well! from Turkey, China, Egypt and Pakistan. It has a big negative effect on local market and causes losses for native traders and producers.

Friday, April 16, 2010

Tourism challenges in Iran

Tourism declined dramatically during the Iran–Iraq War in the 1980s and never revived properly afterward. Iranian governors have paid most of their attention to local tourism rather than foreigners. Despite the importance of local tourism which will cause distribution of wealth among Iranian, we have to keep in mind foreign tourism imports money and wealth which is excessively more important to the country’s economy.
The main challenge Iran’s tourism industry faces, is lack of proper infrastructures for travelers and tourism firms. Other issues are of lower priority in my belief: financing problems, sanctions and embargoes, lack of promotion and advertising campaigns, cultural differences and social codes etc.
So the companies which want to establish a tourism business in Iran, or expanding their operations in this field should be prepared for such challenges. Just to give the case an example, in Iran there’s no integrated payment system connected to international banking system. There is a local network between banks called Shetab, which can’t be accessed from Visa, MasterCard etc. and cannot be connected to an Int’l merchant account as well. In Iran there is no online hotel reservation system working nationwide.
Airlines, Airports and roads are another major problem in Tourism infrastructure. Poor quality of all above means of traveling is clear and undisputed.
Extending infrastructure problems to tourism sites: Iran lacks in public services for tourists. There are no hotels in many small cities despite the potential they have for a long period of visits. There are problems in basic issues like public bathrooms, restaurants, cafe etc.
Lack of knowledge in touring and tour guiding is another issue, I consider it structural problem.

I have done a case study research on how an international tourism company can expand its operations in Iran and win the chance to make massive money while Iranian based companies and firms are failing to do so. my case is Emirates Group. please get back here for this research in two weeks (May 2010). I appreciate your comments and advices in such topic in advance.