Development of tourism industry is an effective way of diversifying Iranian economy as well as enhancing the level, standards and the economic return of the industry itself. A well-developed tourism industry is a potential substitute for the oil income and a preferred means of income distribution within the Iranian society. Even today, and despite the fact the tourism has not yet been fully developed, it is one important sector of the national economy and, therefore, is dealt with through the five-year national socio-economic and cultural development plan of the country.
Tourism in Iran is generally divided into two main branches of "domestic" and "international," each of which in turn is further branched off into "sight-seeing," which is mainly concentrated on visiting monuments and relics of national and historical importance, and "pilgrimage," thanks to the existence of enormous number of holy shrines throughout the country. Many of these holy places especially those in Mashhad, Qom, and Shiraz attract millions of tourists as well as hundreds of thousands of tourists from all over the Middle East, Near-east, the Caucasus and the Central Asia. Yet there is not a well-planned and coordinated network of tourism facilities to accommodate such huge number of annual tourists.
So far, the investment in tourism industry has been mainly concentrated on building on-the-spot accommodations such as hotels, motels, inns and similar establishments run by the private and public sectors, the foundations, charity organizations, and ethnically diversified endeavors. Municipalities of major cities such as Mashhad, Isfahan, Qom, Shiraz and Tabriz have also provided competitive camping facilities for low-income tourists in their major city parks or along their urban arteries. However, these exist considerable deficiencies and extremely substandard and/or dilapidated facilities such as restaurants, fast-foods, tea-houses/coffee shops, along the roads.
There are needs for parking, camping facilities and their basic services such as healthy potable water, telephones, public toilets, resting and praying accommodations along highways and roads connecting major and international airports to the tourist-attractive destinations. These issues are discussed in this article.
Ways and means of reinstatement of the said facilities through master planning, urban renewal and redevelopment schemes, the manner of proper designing, identification of the demands of tourists, and needs of low-income travelers are elaborated. Recommendations are made on how to standardize and/or prefabricate hygienic facilities, composition of the off-road amenities, and the manner of coordinating decision-making and supervisory by the relevant authorities.