The inaugural Iran Hotel & Tourism Investment Conference (IHTIC) organised by Bench Events is to be held in Tehran on 7-8 February 2017 to identify opportunities for investors, developers and service providers in one of the world’s most exciting hospitality markets.
“Iran is a bright star,” says Nikola Kosutic, head of research for the Middle East region at Euromonitor. “The potential is enormous when you consider where they are now, and what they could achieve in the near future. Iran is likely to become the leading tourism market in the Middle East and North Africa Region, provided the infrastructure is able to develop and cope with changes.”
Iran has announced it aims to increase the income of the tourism industry to $35bn in 2025. That compares with around $8bn in 2015.
Hotel groups headquartered outside the US have already started to enter the Iranian market. The French Accor group became the first in 2016. Others are following including the UAE’s Rotana and Spain’s Melia.
Euromonitor says Iran’s tourism potential is adversely affected by its limited airport capacity. The hotel market is massively under supplied and employees are undertrained.
The IHTC is organized by Bench Events. Founder Sponsors are Horwath HTL and Incubeemea. Platinum Sponsors are AccorHotels, Deutsche Hospitality, Melia Hotels International and Rastin Tours. Gold Sponsors are Louvre Hotels Group, Rotana, Sarcheshmeh, Shaza Hotels, TRI Hospitality Consulting and the ZAS Group.