Request from the government: Declare the conditions of tourism force majeure

In a situation where the political and security environment of the region has entered a new phase with the escalation of foreign tensions against Iran and the danger of war is felt more than ever, the activists of the tourism industry and the private sector have warned about the impact of the current situation in causing more damage to tourism offices, especially the offices that were active in the issue of incoming tours to the country and had travel orders to Iran, and asked the government and the Ministry of Cultural Heritage to announce the conditions of “Force Majeure Tourism” or the declaration of a state of emergency in tourism.

“Syed Mustafa Mousavi”, the head of the Iran Chamber of Commerce’s tourism commission, emphasized the critical situation of inbound and domestic tourism in the country, and called for the government and the Ministry of Cultural Heritage to declare a state of tourism emergency and identify “force majeure” conditions.

According to the report of the Communications Committee of the Tourism Commission of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Mousavi announced:

If this issue is ignored, travel service offices active in the field of inbound tourism will face heavy financial losses and bankruptcy.

The head of the Iranian Chamber of Commerce, referring to the contracts created to hold inbound tours to the country by travel agencies that operate in the field of attracting foreign tourists to Iran, announced:

These offices have signed contracts with foreign agencies and tour operators months and even a year before the tours. Contracts that include financial obligations, hotel reservations, transportation, guides and ancillary services that are applicable under normal conditions. But now, with the change in political conditions and the increase in the risk of traveling to Iran, their implementation has faced a serious problem.

Seyed Mustafa Mousavi emphasized:

In a situation where foreign threats from the United States and some European countries have escalated and even the possibility of a military conflict is discussed, private sector activists cannot be expected to implement all past commitments as under normal conditions, and therefore it is necessary to declare a state of tourism emergency.

Seyed Mostafa Mousavi, referring to the new wave of travel warnings against Iran and the evacuation of some foreign embassies in the country, said:

According to reports, more than 20 countries have issued warnings for travel to Iran or increased the level of their previous warnings. The internal conditions in Iran also caused the cancellation or suspension of the incoming tours to Iran due to the external threats and earlier by completely cutting off the internet for three weeks and affected the decision of foreign tourists to travel to Iran. Travel offices also did not have the possibility to contact foreign partners to announce the status of travel to Iran, and for this reason, these issues can lead to requests for compensation from Iran travel service offices due to the cancellation of incoming tours.

Mousavi added:

In this situation, in addition to compensating the losses of foreign partners, Iran’s travel service offices must also pay damages to hotels and tourism facilities in the country for the cancellation of tours and contracts they have concluded, which leads to more damage to the country’s travel service offices.

The head of tourism commission of Iran Chamber of Commerce announced:

The only practical solution in the current situation is the official announcement of the force majeure situation in Iran’s tourism. A move that could allow travel agencies to postpone commitments or renegotiate contracts without paying hefty fines.

He warned:

If this situation is not recognized, Iranian offices must pay the cancellation of tours to foreign parties; While the cancellation of the tours is outside of their will and is caused by the macro political and security conditions of the country.

The head of the Tourism Commission of Iran Chamber of Commerce asked the government and especially the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts to take a decision as soon as possible to support the travel service offices of the country, which suffered a lot of losses in the last one month. Mousavi said:

Declaring a tourism emergency is not only a measure to support the private sector, but it can also prevent the collapse of the country’s incoming tourism infrastructure in the short term.

He added:

Tourism experts believe that delay in decision-making can have long-term consequences for Iran’s international tourism reputation.

The head of tourism commission of Iran Chamber of Commerce added:

Iran’s tourism industry struggled for years to return to the global market, and now more than ever, it needs legal protections and smart policies.