Iran trying to attract muslims tourists

The two young girls sped past on their hired bicycles, clearly enjoying a pastime that is banned for them throughout the rest of Iran.

And out on the clear waters of the southern Gulf, a young married couple skimmed the placid blue surface on a jetski, she fully dressed but her arms around the man clad in swim trunks, T-shirt and lifejacket.

And while alcohol is barred on Kish island like everywhere else in Iran, a more relaxed ambiance seems to pervade this island resort where for a couple, jetski-ing well off-shore, it may seem worth the risk of breaking the rules.

The flexibility, however, is not enough to bring in non-Muslim tourists for most of whom alcohol and mixed bathing are a holiday norm.

So Iran is trying to attract Muslims to breathe life into its island resort and counter the flow of Iranians opting for holidays in neighbouring countries.

"We count on the billion-strong Muslim population to vacation here and we are going to invest in attracting them," said Asghar Alizade Gharib, a tourism official on Kish island.

There is quite a long way to go even to keep Muslim tourists happy.

At present only one beach is reserved for women, but there at least they can bathe in swimming costumes even if getting there requires at least a 10-minute drive to or from the nearest hotel.

Covered in sweat and tugging at her headscarf, Somayeh Ebrahimi waits for a taxi outside the beach - sheltered by high wooden fences on the eastern coast, despite there being no high buildings to overlook it.

"This is so inconvenient, I don't mind going to the beach without my husband, but they have to do something to make it easier to get there in this terrible heat," said the 26-year-old mechanical engineer.

It is the first vacation on Kish for Ebrahimi, who has already been to Britain, Dubai and Malaysia, but who says she would much prefer to spend her money at home and see her fellow Iranians become richer.

"I do not care for going to Dubai again; there is nothing cultural to do, but if they want a tourist boom here they should bring in the concerts, the water park and the exotic restaurants."

Once a winter getaway for the former Shah and his family, Kish was declared a free trade zone in 1992 to try to rival nearby Dubai. It became a shopping paradise drawing thousands of tourists to the mushrooming malls despite its unbearable heat and humidity.

"There are not as many visitors to spend big bucks here any more," lamented Saeed Shirazi, a taxi driver who has lived on the island for 18 years.

In a country of 70 million, Kish has an annual one million visitors, with barely any foreigners among them.

Tourists complain there is not much to do except shop, which has lost its appeal as prices are little different from the mainland, where the government reduced import tariffs in a bid to combat smuggling.

"The quality stuff is as expensive as in Tehran and the rest is fake Chinese and Thai plastic," said 27-year-old Shiva Rahmani in disdain, eyeing an imitation Diesel bag in a shop window covered with sale signs.

"I would have liked to go to Dubai or Turkey, but my father does not allow me to go abroad," said this single woman of Iran's neighbours which draw hundreds of thousand of Iranian tourists every year.

She has spent 250 dollars on a five-day package while her friends went to Antaliya in southern Turkey "where there is more freedom and fun for 400 dollars".

Gharib says bargain shopping is no longer a tourist attraction, yet he admits the island does not have much else to offer, especially for women.

"The island has great potential to entertain holiday-makers searching for serenity in a safe familial environment off the beaten track," he said, citing warm winters, a vast sandy coastline, varied marine life and coral reefs.

"We are going to offer top quality service in water sports and eco-tourism as well as affordable accommodation while respecting our red lines," Gharib added, laying out plans for developing golf courses and boating clubs.

"There are plans for separate but close beaches for men and women," he said, acknowledging that the lack of mixed beaches and ban on alcohol are "certainly seen as limitations by many tourists".

One of the main projects is the "Flower of the East" development, which is a 1.7 billion Euro joint venture with the German firm Dress and Sommer which began in 2004 and is expected to be finished by 2009.

The project includes a seven-star and two five-star hotels, three residential areas, villas and apartment complexes, coffee shops, luxury showrooms and stores, sports facilities and a marina for 250 boats.

A golf course is also to be developed on 155 hectares (380 acres) of land. There will be an 18-hole course to PGA standards, and a nine-hole course plus one on top of a tower.

Already entrepreneurs like Hossein Sabet have started investing in luxury hotels on the island. Named after one of Iran's ancient kings, the 200-room Dariush Grand Hotel is an ambitious sprawling compound modelled after Achaemenid capital of Persepolis which opened for business about 30 months ago.

The original plan for the five-star hotel included a private beach with a variety of water sports, which is still awaiting authorization to be developed.

Hotel manager Fereidoon Movafegh said that to attract foreign tourists, the island had to offer more freedom and fun.

"We have no choice but to expand this industry, it's dynamic and keeps making money, unlike oil which will run out sometime," he said.

Rsource :http://news.ibn.net/

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