IRAN: THE HERITAGE HOTELS OPPORTUNITY High Octane Fuel for Cultural Tourism A contribution by MARIO CANDEIAS General Manager Espinas Palace Hotel, Tehran I.R. of IRAN
BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT SANCTIONS, ECONOMIC TURMOIL and UNCERTAINTY Incremental DEPENDENCY on DOMESTIC MARKET Lack of INNOVATION in Hotels, lack of BRANDS aligned with current MARKET TRENDS, NEEDS and SEGMENTS ABUNDANCY of HERITAGE ASSETS eligible for TOURISM + HOTEL RELATED businesses Existing heritage assets are UNMANAGED, UNBRANDED, POORLY MAINTAINED Need for TANGIBLE CULTURAL TOURISM DEVELOPMENT PLATFORMS, that can produce QUICK RESULTS
BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT PRIVATIZATION winds are on the way... https://financialtribune.com/articles/economy-domestic-economy/65011/iran-economy-ministry-priorities-assigned
BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT... including (as an example) the privatization of NATIONAL HERITAGE ASSETS to be converted into Hotels + Restaurants... (SAABTA) http://en.chre.ir/ The target is to cede about 100 buildings to the private sector for restoration every year, which means a total of 1,084 buildings will be ready for use by the end of the 2025 Vision Plan
https://financialtribune.com/articles/people-travel/59732/hoteliers-consider-investing-in-old-buildings BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT
INTERNATIONAL BENCHMARKS POUSADAS of PORTUGAL (> 35 properties) PPP Public-Private Partnership
INTERNATIONAL BENCHMARKS PARADORES of SPAIN (> 100 properties) Now, also INTERNATIONALIZING to PORTUGAL and, in future, to other countries (additional to other Spanish-speaking countries). Fully PUBLIC SECTOR http://irantourismnews.com/spain-ready-to-invest-in-iran-tourism-infrastructure-developing-bilateral-tourism-relations/ https://financialtribune.com/articles/people-travel/63544/spanish-firm-joins-hands-to-repurpose-heritagesites-in-iran
INTERNATIONAL BENCHMARKS RELAIS et CHATEAUX of FRANCE (> 540 properties) Fully PRIVATE SECTOR Includes RELAIS GOURMAND (Gastronomic Tourism)
CONCEPTUALIZED VISION To create a master planned IRANIAN HERITAGE HOTELS BRAND in the style of PARADORES or alike in a PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP (investment + management to be done by PRIVATE SECTOR) as a CANVAS for CULTURAL TOURISM DEVELOPMENT
10 BENEFITS of HERITAGE HOTELS Organization of CULTURAL EVENTS Optimization and Innovation related to LOCAL GASTRONOMY COUNTRY BRANDING (international impact in Iran s Tourism Brand) ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT through JOB CREATION Tourism DESTINATION-BUILDING Increased USE OF LOCAL HANDICRAFT in hotel operations processes COMPETITIVENESS of HERITAGE ASSETS, that will not become obsolete Restores/maintains SENSE OF PRIDE of Local Community and become a CENTERPIECE of Local Community lifestyle Become base camp of tourists, provide comfort and security, increase their LENGTH OF STAY + AVERAGE SPEND, injecting new LIFE Increase INVESTMENT IN CORRELATED SECTORS (museums, restaurants, shopping districts, landscaping )
CONCLUSIONS TOURISTS (leisure + corporate) are UNSANCTIONED HERITAGE HOTELS are SOLUTION to a PROBLEM, with a CULTURAL MULTIPLIER IRANIAN HERITAGE HOTELS WILL IMPACT IRAN S TOURISM BRAND: Consistent management and branding Loyalty programs (database-building, cross-selling, cross-marketing) International expansion in Middle East and Muslim World WHOLESALE APPROACH to SAABTA (rather than Retail Approach) as a PORTFOLIO is easier to manage, faster to develop and has lower risk PACKAGED ASSETS (wholesale approach) increase the SCALE OF BUSINESS, attracting LARGE-SCALE INVESTORS AND OPERATORS
SUPPORT DATA + INFORMATION
THE ROAD AHEAD CHALLENGING way forward (IMF Outlook worsened in Autumn Report) IRAN needs to increase INVESTMENT + NEW BUSINESS to mitigate the poor economic outlook and improve the lifestyle of the population
Sub-OPTIMAL performance HISTORIC PERFORMANCE
HISTORIC PERFORMANCE Sub-OPTIMAL performance, also when compared to other Middle East countries (8 out of 11)
HISTORIC PERFORMANCE Sub-OPTIMAL performance, also in CULTURAL RESOURCES (although the strongest in the Middle East aggregate which means there is a BIG OPPORTUNITY TO CAPTURE IN CULTURAL TOURISM)
HISTORIC PERFORMANCE https://media.beam.usnews.com/ce/e7/fdca61cb496da027ab53bef37a24/171110-best-countries-overall-rankings-2018.pdf Sub-OPTIMALLY ranked (77 th out of 80 countries), but 56 th in HERITAGE and 13 th in POWER, meaning the HERITAGE FACTOR is strong (room to grow)
HISTORIC PERFORMANCE Most competitive in PRICING (also means the relatively CHEAPEST tourism destination in the world )
THE ROAD AHEAD 2017 = $1,200 per tourist http://irantourismnews.com/irantourismincomeasoil/ As Oil & Gas is I.R. of Iran s 1 st wealth driver, we look at the Tourism potential through the lens of the Oil & Gas Sector
SIMULATION [IRAN, TURKEY] Source: US NEWS
SIMULATION [IRAN, TURKEY] TOURISM PERFORMANCE in OIL TERMS ARRIVALS (millions) 2016 2017 IRAN (IR) 4.9 4.9 TURKEY (TR) 30.3 37.6 Var +/- 25.3 32.7 Multiple TR, IR 6.1x 7.7x (IR) Average Receipts/Arrival (USD) 751 751 (IR) Total Receipts (billion USD) 3.7 3.7 RECEIPTS NOT CAPTURED by IRAN (billion USD) 19.0 24.6 Price of Oil Barrel (Average, Brent, USD) 60 Equivalent Oil Barrels Year 409,892,560 Equivalent Oil Barrels Day 1,122,993 or in Million Barrels per Day (mbd) or in Million Barrels per Day (mbd) 1.1 mbd 1.1 mbd LOST!!!
SIMULATION [HERITAGE HOTELS] % UNITS TOTAL (year) Heritage Projects (from SAABTA) 1,084 Potential Hotels 25% 271 Average Size (rooms) 50 13,550 4,945,750 Average Stay (days) 3 Average Jobs 50 Average Occupancy Rooms 60% 2,967,450 Average Occupancy Beds (Guest Nights) 55% 5,440,325 Average Size (beds) 100 27,100 9,891,500 Average Tourists Year 1,780,470 Double Occupancy 1.8 Average Spend per Tourist 751 REVENUES NOT CAPTURED (USD) 1,337,694,276 JOBS NOT CREATED - Direct 13,550 JOBS NOT CREATED - Indirect 1 13,550 JOBS NOT CREATED - TOTAL 27,100
NB: VF includes arrivals + same-day visits (which means that IR. Of IRAN s relative and comparative performance is worse than it seems) Questions Why is Iran in South Asia aggregate, not in Middle East s? Different criteria in WEF WTTC Index Why is Iran weak on MARKET INFORMATION levels and MARKET CONNECTIVITY (inconsistent reporting to UNWTO, no reporting to HVS, HOTSTATS, STR, PWC)? Weaker competitiveness