Iran Hotel and Tourism Investment Conference (IHTIC)

Iran is proving to be an increasingly popular destination with air travellers, experiencing growing passenger numbers from around the world – a trend that looks like continuing during 2017, according to a study by ForwardKeys, the leading travel intelligence analyst.

Total international arrivals were up 18.3% last year, sustaining an upward path since 2013 (up 2.7%), 2014 (24.8%) and 2015 (12.7%). The pattern is reflected by a consistent year-on-year increase in total scheduled seats: 2014 (up 10.5%), 2015 (18.3%), 2016 (17.3%).

— Source: The Bench— Source: The Bench
— Source: The Bench

The study is timely, coming just weeks ahead of the inaugural Iran Hotel & Tourism Investment Conference (IHTIC) on 7-8 February 2017 in Tehran, which will be attended by numerous international investors and hotel industry experts.

ForwardKeys, which monitors future travel patterns by analysing 16 million flight reservation transactions each day, also found that international arrivals to Iran saw positive monthly growth throughout 2016, with the exception of June because of the timing of Ramadan.

— Source: The Bench— Source: The Bench
— Source: The Bench

The main source regions for air travel to Iran are North America, Europe and the Middle East. Together, they made up 83.7% of international arrivals during 2016. Germany, with a 14.3% market share, was up 8.3%, followed by the USA (10.7% share) up 9.3%. Bahrain, Canada and the UK, all with significant market shares, also showed healthy growth in visitors to Iran.

Among the 12 top origin countries, only China and Pakistan were outside these main regions. ForwardKeys' data also shows that 40% of Chinese visitors to Iran last year were on business trips.

— Source: The Bench— Source: The Bench
— Source: The Bench

Looking ahead, forward bookings for the first half of 2017 are ahead 14.8%, based on those issued at the beginning of January, suggesting the upward surge of international visitors to Iran is still growing in momentum.

— Source: The Bench— Source: The Bench
— Source: The Bench

Arrivals in Iran during 2017 are being boosted by increased air connectivity from a number of centres:

  • Italy is benefiting from Alitalia and Iran Air tripling their scheduled seats since November last year.
  • The Netherlands is connected by one more daily flight from Amsterdam to Tehran by KLM since October 2016.
  • An increasing number of Belgian travellers are using Amsterdam to transfer to Iran, while Swiss travellers tend to route via Vienna, from where Austrian Airlines is doubling its scheduled seats during the first half of 2017.
— Source: The Bench— Source: The Bench
— Source: The Bench

Olivier Jager, CEO of ForwardKeys, said: "Our findings support the conclusion that political change in Iran is making the country more approachable – an attractive place to visit and potentially do business. The image of Iran around the world is changing. Its many tourist attractions, historic, religious and spectacular, are once again being emphasised. I expect visitor numbers to increase, so long as Iran's airport capacity can keep pace."

About ForwardKeys
ForwardKeys predicts future travel patterns by crunching and analysing 16m booking transactions a day. It is used by travel marketers, retailers, hotels, destination marketing organisations (DMOs), financial institutions, car rental companies, tour operators, online travel agents (OTAs), and other traveller-focussed businesses worldwide to monitor and anticipate traveller arrivals and stay ahead of the trends from a particular origin market at a specific time. The analysis enables them to anticipate the impact of events, better manage their staffing levels, fine tune supply requirements, adjust and measure the effectiveness of their marketing efforts and predict future market trends. ForwardKeys' data is retrieved daily from all the major global reservation systems worldwide.

About The Bench

The Bench is a leading organiser behind some of the most influential investment event brands across Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America. The company is renowned for guiding businesses towards investments, connections and insights that shape the future of their industries. Known for crafting events with significant economic impact since 1996, The Bench's event participants include government leaders, tourism ministries, global travel and tourism associations, leading hospitality brands, hotel owners and investors, top restaurant groups, airlines and aviation authorities, destination developers, asset managers, financial groups, and consultants. These stakeholders participate to achieve their specific goals, leveraging platforms such as AHIC, now known as FHS World, FHS Saudi Arabia, AHIF, IDEEA, and AviaDev. The Bench's events serve as pivotal venues for industry leaders to exhibit their brands, establish themselves as thought leaders or innovators, and forge connections with valuable opportunities and insights.

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About FHS Saudi Arabia

Dates: 29 April – 1 May 2024

Location: Mandarin Oriental Al Faisaliah, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Sponsors: Mandarin Oriental Al Faisaliah, Riyadh and Al Khozama Management Holdings as Host Sponsors; Ministry of Tourism Saudi Arabia as Strategic Partner; Taiba Investments as Founding Partner; Tourism Development Fund as Enablement Partner; Baheej, Boutique Group, Hilton, Kerten Hospitality, KAFD, NEOM, Radisson Hotel Group, Red Sea Global, Rua Al Madinah Holding and Saudi Icon Company as Platinum Sponsors; Saudi Tourism Investment Company (ASFAR), Accor, Club Med, IHG Hotels & Resorts, Jabal Omar Development Company, Marriott International, Millennium Hotels and Resorts and Rotana as Emerald Sponsors; Aleph Hospitality; ARC, Al Futtaim Engineering & Technologies, Bits Arabia, CBRE, Colliers; Compass Project Consulting, Dan Company, DAR Engineering, Daniel Ost, Domus Managed Housing, ELAF, IHCL, Insignia, JLL, JT & Partners, Kohler, Knight Frank, LEVA, Louvre Hotels Group, Minor Hotels, QUO, Rove Hotels, Shaza Hotels, Tashyid Urban Development, The Ascott Limited, Valor Hospitality Partners, Whitewater and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts as Gold Sponsors; Conran Design Group, H World International, HVS, HMH Hospitality Management Holding, Keane, STR, TV5 Monde, Time Hotels, Voltere by egis and Wisefields as Silver Sponsors; Restroworks and TGP International as GRIF Platinum Sponsors; Soho Hospitality as GRIF Gold Sponsor; Forsite Creative as GRIF Data Partner; Livit as GRIF Culinary & Concept Tour Partner; Melitta Professional as GRIF Coffee Sponsor, and HAMA, Sustainable Hospitality Alliance and UN Tourism as Supporters.

David Tarsh
+44 (0) 20 7602 5262
The Bench

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