A letter by an Iranian Tourism Professional warns: I will be dead!

Iran issues bank note with ‘phantom’ zeros to mark transition to new currency
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Hunger, homelessness is a reality in today’s Iran. It’s a reality of Iran Tourism together with a nuclear ambition.

“No spare parts for airliners and hungry and homeless people are crowding our streets. You find former travel and tourism professionals among them. This is a daily reality in our Islamic Republic of Iran. ” This observation is according to the letter by a known former high-level tourism professional from Iran.

This known tourism professional had a top role in Iran tourism and also visited the United States often. He leaked a heartbreaking letter explaining the current reality in his Islamic Republic of Iran.

He fears for his life!

Tourism in Iran is diverse, providing a range of activities from hiking and skiing in the Alborz and Zagros mountains to beach holidays by the Persian Gulf and the Caspian Sea. Cultural tourism is big in Iran. The Iranian government has made concerted efforts to attract tourists to the country’s various destinations, and arrivals have increased in recent years.

Tourism remains an important industry, and UNWTO knows this.

According to the World Bank, the Iranian authorities have adopted a comprehensive strategy of market-based reforms for their 20-year economic vision and five-year development plan for 2016/17 to 2021/22.

The plan comprises three pillars: developing a resilient economy, progress in science and technology, and promoting cultural excellence.

Among its priorities are the reform of state-owned enterprises and the financial and banking sectors and the allocation and management of oil revenues. The plan envisions annual economic growth of 8%.

Iran’s economy is slowly emerging from a decade-long stagnation, bogged down by two rounds of economic sanctions, marked oil price cyclicality, and the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Dear brothers in America!
I hope you are well and safe. Unfortunately, I am sick. I have been sick mentally and psychologically for some time here in Iran.
You know how much I like my beautiful country. You know how much I like to travel and how devoted I am to travel and tourism – it has been my life.

I hoped that everything would change with the new Iranian president, but unfortunately, now the situation is even worse.

The current president of Iran Ebrahim Raisi assumed office on 3 August 2021, after the 2021 presidential election. He succeeded Hassan Rouhani, who served eight years in office from 2013 to 2021.


Dear brother, as a researcher, I can not continue to see my people’s difficult and hard conditions on a daily basis. We are suffering!

Poverty, homelessness, hunger – all of this is a daily reality in Iran.

The looting of my country by some is heartbreaking.
I suffer from seeing the good people of Iran living in misery.
As a researcher, I am ashamed that I cannot do anything.

Dear Brother,
Please get a letter to the U.S. Department of State to invite me as a professional planner and researcher.

They should inform the American embassy in Ankara to provide the necessary facilities for my trip to meet, discuss, and use my knowledge to help rebuild the economy after COVID-19.

Dear brother,
You know, I am a planner and a professional. The local economy, especially through tourism and nation-building, and cooperation must change.

You know I have a good understanding of the crises we have and the situation we may face in the future. I like to contribute to protecting our people.

Please fully support me because silence for a researcher and for me means death.

I hope you and your family are well and safe.

I am in bad conditions mentally and psychologically, and if I remain in these conditions, really I will be dead,
Hope to see you again.

Signed,
Researcher and lawyer

Tourism, however, is continuing in Iran. VISA regulations actually had been relaxed. Tour Operators are continuing to email newsletters and updates for the U.S. market and telling the U.S. travel trade it is safe and possible to visit the country.

The United States State Department has a different version. They categorize Iran as a DO NOT TRAVEL country.

U.S. citizens visiting or residing in Iran have been kidnapped, arrested, and detained on spurious charges. Iranian authorities continue to unjustly detain and imprison U.S. citizens, particularly dual national Iranian-Americans–including students, journalists, business travelers, and academics–on charges including espionage and posing a threat to national security. Iranian authorities routinely delay consular access to detained U.S. citizens and consistently deny consular access to dual U.S.-Iranian citizens.

The U.S. government does not have diplomatic or consular relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran. The U.S. government is unable to provide emergency services to U.S. citizens in Iran.

Due to the risks of operating civilian aircraft within or in the vicinity of Iran, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued a Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) and/or a Special Federal Aviation Regulation (SFAR). 

About the author

Avatar of Juergen T Steinmetz

Juergen T Steinmetz

Juergen Thomas Steinmetz has continuously worked in the travel and tourism industry since he was a teenager in Germany (1977).
He founded eTurboNews in 1999 as the first online newsletter for the global travel tourism industry.

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