(11-02) 04:00 PST Tehran -- Iran is offering money to travel agents who can lure certain types of tourists to Iran, and the rate is double for bringing European and American travelers.
"Iran's Tourism Department will pay $20 for every American or European tourist that travel agents can bring," Mohammad Sharif Malekzadeh, deputy director of the Tourism and Cultural Heritage Organization, said Tuesday in a statement reported by the news agency IRNA. The statement also specified a $10 payment for luring Asian tourists.
Iran has been trying to expand its tourism industry, in particular to attract more Western tourists. Iranian officials have repeatedly said that despite hostile relations with the United States, Americans visiting the country should be treated with respect.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said last week that he was against proposed legislation to require American travelers to be fingerprinted at the airport. Lawmakers said they were responding to similar requirements imposed by the United States on some Iranian travelers.
"We do not have a problem with American people," Ahmadinejad said. "We oppose only the U.S. government's bullying and arrogance."
Relations between the two countries have not thawed since they severed diplomatic ties in 1979 after revolutionaries seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran.
But now the United States is pressing the U.N. Security Council to impose sanctions on Iran for its refusal to halt its nuclear program, which the United States contends is intended to develop nuclear arms.
Last month, Iran offered to open its nuclear sites to foreign visitors as another incentive for visitors. Esfandiar Rahim-Masahai, head of the Tourism and Cultural Heritage Organization, said Ahmadinejad had ordered the move and that it was intended, in part, to convince the world that the nuclear program is peaceful.
Despite Iran's diverse landscape and ancient historical sites, the effort to attract more foreign tourists has failed so far.
A ban on alcohol and a law that requires women to cover their hair have been powerful hindrances.
Iran also has insufficient hotels and tourist facilities around the country because of its isolation since the 1979 Islamic revolution.
Most tourists are Shiite Muslim pilgrims from the region who travel to religious sites.
Malekzadeh said tourists can also apply for visas on the Internet to ease the process.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...&type=politics
11-03-2006, 06:41 PM
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