May 16, 2018
Booking.com, one of the largest e-commerce companies in the world, has stopped offering flights and hotel deals to Iran. Customers can no longer find Iran in the website’s drop-down country menu.
It would appear that the decision to remove Iran from the company’s travel services follows the U.S. withdrawal of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), better known as the Iran nuclear deal.
Iran was hoping to revitalize its tourism industry after the easing of sanctions, but this latest move by Booking.com will deliver a massive blow to many travel agencies in Iran.
Booking.com has reportedly notified all Iranian hotels, travel agencies and tourism services of its decision to end business ties with them. The company has removed previous clients from its web pages and is not allowing new businesses in Iran to register their services on its site.
The Islamic Republic was hoping for its tourism industry to generate the country’s highest non-oil revenues following the JCPOA agreement. Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicraft, and Tourism Organization (ICHTO) announced last year that each tourist spends $1,200 on average which is equivalent to the price of 30 barrels of oil.
After the signing of the JCPOA and the temporary easing of sanctions, the ICHTO drafted 40 plans aimed at attracting 20 million foreign tourists by 2025. But with the U.S. withdrawal of the nuclear deal, the rial dropping to record low against the dollar and new and tougher sanctions, the tourism industry in Iran is facing a grim future.
