Results of the national tourists survey in Iran

The importance of the tourism industry in economic prosperity requires that a coherent and dynamic statistical system be established in this sector and that the production and publication of the statistics and information needed by planners be placed on the agenda. Iran, with its ancient history and rich culture, and given its cultural heritage, natural attractions, and climatic diversity, is undoubtedly one of the world's important tourist-receiving destinations which, with appropriate planning, will become one of the country's sources of wealth creation. The production and publication of statistics and information in the tourism domain is one of the important needs of the country's cultural sector, which requires the responsibility and closer cooperation more than ever of all those involved in this field. The first national survey in the tourism domain was carried out nationwide in 1387 (2008/09). Until this survey, there had been no coherent and reliable information in the domain of national tourists, and in some cases official statistics on visitors to museums and historical monuments under the coverage of the Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization have been published in statistical yearbooks.
The Statistical Centre of Iran, from 1381 (2002/03), in cooperation with the then Iran Touring and Tourism Organization, jointly began studies on preparing Tourism Satellite Accounts. But after the merger of the aforementioned organization with the Cultural Heritage Organization, these studies were halted. Despite these activities remaining unfinished, the result of the studies conducted emphasized the design and implementation of survey plans in the three main domains of tourism (domestic, inbound, outbound). In this regard, the implementation of two survey plans titled "Survey of Domestic Tourists" and "Survey of Inbound Tourists" was foreseen in the country's First National Statistical Program.
By the grace of God, the initial studies to pilot the survey of domestic tourists began in 1385 (2006/07) in cooperation with the Statistical Research Institute, and finally in Farvardin (March–April) 1386 (2007/08) the aforementioned plan was implemented in six selected provinces at the level of the counties of Bushehr, Tehran, Sabzevar, Rafsanjan, Babol, and Malayer. After evaluating the results of the plan's pilot and obtaining the views and suggestions of all implementing agents, revisions were applied to the questionnaire and the guides that had been prepared.
In order to collect information on the tourism of the country's households in 1387 (2008/09), the main plan was implemented in four stages, during Tir (June–July), Mehr (September–October), and Dey (December–January) of 1387 (2008/09) and Farvardin (March–April) 1388 (2009/10); in 1390–1393 (2011–2015) in two stages during Tir (June–July) and Mehr (September–October); and in 1395 (2016/17) and 1396 (2017/18) in one stage in Tir (June–July); and at each stage the households' tourism information in the previous season was asked.
The present publication contains the results of the aforementioned plan in the spring of 1396 (2017/18). It is hoped that with the continued production of tourism statistics and the recognition of tourism patterns in the country, the possibility of better planning for this important industry will be provided

Statistics and information examined in more detail in the report:

1. Overall specifications of the plan
2. Definitions and concepts
3. Summary of findings
4. Statistical tables 1- Number of households by travel status – spring 1396 (2017/18) 2- Number of households by travel status, broken down by household size – spring 1396 (2017/18) 3- Number of households by travel status, broken down by the household's tenure of residence – spring 1396 (2017/18) 4- Number of households by travel status, broken down by vehicle ownership status – spring 1396 (2017/18) 5- Number of households by travel status, broken down by sex of the household head – spring 1396 (2017/18) 6- Number of households by travel status, broken down by literacy status and education level of the household head – spring 1396 (2017/18) 7- Number of households by travel status, broken down by activity status of the household head – spring 1396 (2017/18) 8- Number of households by travel status, broken down by employment status of the household head – spring 1396 (2017/18) 9- Number of households by travel status, broken down by marital status of the household head – spring 1396 (2017/18) 10- Number of households by travel status, broken down by age groups of the household head – spring 1396 (2017/18) 11- Number of trips by destination and type of trip – spring 1396 (2017/18) 12- Number of domestic trips by type of trip, broken down by household size – spring 1396 (2017/18) 13- Number of foreign trips broken down by household size – spring 1396 (2017/18) 14- Number of domestic trips by type of trip, broken down by the household's tenure of residence – spring 1396 (2017/18). 15- Number of foreign trips broken down by the household's tenure of residence – spring 1396 (2017/18). 16- Number of domestic trips by type of trip, broken down by vehicle ownership status – spring 1396 (2017/18) 17- Number of domestic trips by type of trip, broken down by sex of the household head – spring 1396 (2017/18) 18- Number of foreign trips broken down by sex of the household head – spring 1396 (2017/18) 19- Number of domestic trips by type of trip, broken down by literacy status and education level of the household head – spring 1396 (2017/18) 20- Number of foreign trips broken down by literacy status and education level of the household head – spring 1396 (2017/18) 21- Number of domestic trips by type of trip, broken down by activity status of the household head – spring 1396 (2017/18) 22- Number of foreign trips broken down by activity status of the household head – spring 1396 (2017/18) 23- Number of domestic trips by type of trip, broken down by employment status of the household head – spring 1396 (2017/18) 24- Number of foreign trips broken down by employment status of the household head – spring 1396 (2017/18) 25- Number of domestic trips by type of trip, broken down by marital status of the household head – spring 1396 (2017/18) 26- Number of domestic trips by type of trip, broken down by main tourism purposes – spring 1396 (2017/18) 27- Number of domestic trips by type of trip, broken down by mode of travel – spring 1396 (2017/18) 28- Number of domestic trips by type of trip, broken down by type of main vehicle used for the outbound journey – spring 1396 (2017/18) 29- Number of foreign trips broken down by type of main vehicle used for the outbound journey – spring 1396 (2017/18) 30- Number of domestic trips by type of trip, broken down by type of main vehicle used for the return – spring 1396 (2017/18) 31- Number of foreign trips broken down by type of main vehicle used for the return – spring 1396 (2017/18) 32- Number of person-nights of stay for domestic overnight trips, broken down by type of accommodation – spring 1396 (2017/18) 33- Number of trips and person-nights of stay for trips taken, by type of trip, broken down by destination province – spring 1396 (2017/18) 34- Number of trips and person-nights of stay for trips taken, by type of trip, broken down by provinces visited – spring 1396 (2017/18) 35- Twenty main destination cities of domestic trips, in order of the number of trips taken, by type of trip and number of person-nights of stay – spring 1396 (2017/18) 36- Twenty cities visited in the country, in order of the number of trips taken, by type of trip and number of person-nights of stay – spring 1396 (2017/18) 37- Twenty main destination counties of domestic trips, in order of the number of trips taken, by type of trip and number of person-nights of stay – spring 1396 (2017/18) 38- Twenty counties visited in the country, in order of the number of trips taken, by type of trip and number of person-nights of stay – spring 1396 (2017/18) 39- Households' domestic trip expenditure by type of trip, broken down by main expenditure items – spring 1396 (2017/18) 40- Households' foreign trip expenditure, broken down by main expenditure items – spring 1396 (2017/18)