Hello From Iran - Persian Gulf

[HiDeh]

Hi guys, I am Masoud from Hi,Deh! Company. we are working on special experiences for tourist all around the world. This is not an advertisement. Actually, it is a survey on the intention of experts in scuba and finds how much they will interest in having scuba in the Persian Gulf. So we can provide a special tour of scuba diving in warm and shallow water and coral beaches of Qeshm Island, Hormuz Island and some other Virgin Islands in the south of Iran.
We appreciate any idea. Feel free to contact us or say your opinion here.
Regards
Hi,Deh! Team

 

[Skulmoski]

I always want to dive that area having lived in the Gulf for 17 years.
Best wishes
GJS

 

[HiDeh]

I always want to dive that area having lived in the Gulf for 17 years.
Best wishes
GJS

So hope to See you there while diving! There are some scuba clubs in Kish and also Qeshm Island you can go for diving.
good luck

 

[Compressor]

I clicked on the link and no where do I see anything about diving. It seems to be an ad for a travel agency.

 

[JasmineNeedsGills]

I couldnt see any mention of diving on the company site. Having worked in travel, I've got a few random thoughts on this concept though - assuming you are catering to the European market, which along with domestic tourism, is your only real option.

1. European divers already have the red sea close to home, with an abundance of resorts and cheap flights. You will need to strongly differentiate yourself to stand out. What can Qeshm offer that European divers can't get in Sharm, Hurghada, Marsa Alam, Aqaba, Eilat?
2. First and foremost, you need a European tour operator on board to market and arrange the European end of things for you. People just won't be willing to book their whole holiday direct with a local company, and few are willing to make independent arrangements for Iran. Without a longstanding / well-known European diving travel specialist, you aren't going anywhere. Is that fair? Maybe not - but it's the reality. This should your first port of call and you need to be talking to them - they know the market better than anyone.
3. What is the diving infrastructure like? You need dive centres with international affiliation/accreditation (CMAS / PADI / BSAC), with at least semi-modern facilities like nitrox, and with guides and instructors fluent in European languages (ideally French, German, Spanish and English). You also need to have local dive sites/attractions surveyed so you can offer guided dives, and ideally professionally photographed to get some nice glossy photos and videos put together for tour operators to sell. You can just tell
4. What's the visa regime like? Again, if people have to go through a complicated visa procedure, you will need to offer something people can't get elsewhere. Egypt, Jordan and Israel have either completely visa free travel for EU citizens, or visa-on-arrival (effectively visa-free, in all but name). Iran doesn't.
5. What air links are there? I'm not aware of any flights to Qeshm directly from Europe. People are highly unlikely to take connecting flights on a high-cost flag carrier when comparable destinations are available on direct flights with low-cost carriers.
6. What kind of surface facilities are available in terms of hotels, entertainment etc.? Are hotels connected to dive-centres with decent beach access? House reefs? Hotels don't need to be luxurious, but they do need to be safe and secure and practical for diving needs - as well as catering to western tastes (i.e. European style bathrooms, bars and cafe/restaurant) - "Foreign but not too foreign" would well sum up how most Europeans like their overseas holidays.

 

[HiDeh]

I clicked on the link and no where do I see anything about diving. It seems to be an ad for a travel agency.

Hi
It's not ads, but if you think I can remove the links!
As I said " Actually, it is a survey on the intention of experts in scuba and finds how much they will interest in having scuba in the Persian Gulf. " I am looking for the eagerness of other country people to plan for a diving tour in Iran, but if no one is interested in, I remove it!
Regards

 

[HiDeh]

I couldnt see any mention of diving on the company site. Having worked in travel, I've got a few random thoughts on this concept though - assuming you are catering to the European market, which along with domestic tourism, is your only real option.

1. European divers already have the red sea close to home, with an abundance of resorts and cheap flights. You will need to strongly differentiate yourself to stand out. What can Qeshm offer that European divers can't get in Sharm, Hurghada, Marsa Alam, Aqaba, Eilat?
2. First and foremost, you need a European tour operator on board to market and arrange the European end of things for you. People just won't be willing to book their whole holiday direct with a local company, and few are willing to make independent arrangements for Iran. Without a longstanding / well-known European diving travel specialist, you aren't going anywhere. Is that fair? Maybe not - but it's the reality. This should your first port of call and you need to be talking to them - they know the market better than anyone.
3. What is the diving infrastructure like? You need dive centres with international affiliation/accreditation (CMAS / PADI / BSAC), with at least semi-modern facilities like nitrox, and with guides and instructors fluent in European languages (ideally French, German, Spanish and English). You also need to have local dive sites/attractions surveyed so you can offer guided dives, and ideally professionally photographed to get some nice glossy photos and videos put together for tour operators to sell. You can just tell
4. What's the visa regime like? Again, if people have to go through a complicated visa procedure, you will need to offer something people can't get elsewhere. Egypt, Jordan and Israel have either completely visa free travel for EU citizens, or visa-on-arrival (effectively visa-free, in all but name). Iran doesn't.
5. What air links are there? I'm not aware of any flights to Qeshm directly from Europe. People are highly unlikely to take connecting flights on a high-cost flag carrier when comparable destinations are available on direct flights with low-cost carriers.
6. What kind of surface facilities are available in terms of hotels, entertainment etc.? Are hotels connected to dive-centres with decent beach access? House reefs? Hotels don't need to be luxurious, but they do need to be safe and secure and practical for diving needs - as well as catering to western tastes (i.e. European style bathrooms, bars and cafe/restaurant) - "Foreign but not too foreign" would well sum up how most Europeans like their overseas holidays.

Hi Dear Jasmine and Thank you for your complete answers. But there are some points I try to clarify.
First of all, We are a local traveling services company in Iran who deal with lots of tourist coming easily from Europe and other continents except few countries (USA, CA, GB) who need a more complicated procedure to pick up Visa. As I mentioned before we are trying to plan for some diving tours in the Persian Gulf and Oman sea but we need feedback of expert divers from other countries. So this is a survey on eagerness and intention of scuba diving lovers.
We try to be creative and plan tours which are new and a little bit different from other commercial agencies. Our target market is not only Europe at all.

1. I agree with you. There are lots of places in Europe and other areas in the world where you can go for diving With direct and cheap flight. We look for early adopters and also, adventurous one who loves to go places have never been before.
   
2. We also look for some European diving agencies who want to have new markets. We have also other agencies from Switzerland work on cycle tourism in Iran without a European tour operator, An Iranian tour operator handle their tours and they have a partnership. Nowadays Iran is the cheapest destination for many nationalities and they travel to Iran solo and backpacking in Iran. Some others prefer to come in a group. we have both and many backpackers say to us how can they have special tours in Iran. We currently have diving expert and standards in Iran who can speak almost English!
   
3. There are some facilities and clubs in Qeshm and Kish as infrastructure with international certificates. Guides and Instructors know English but may not be fluent like European people and some of them get their certificates from international academies in European countries. Thanks for your nice idea about underwater photography in Iran and introduce diving sites and attraction. We will work on it.
   
4. You can easily google visa conditions and find your answer. it's not complicated and Visa on arrival also possible in Iran for most of the nationalities check it here. Qeshm and Kish are free zones in Iran so these areas are No Visa Entry, There is the everyday flight from Dubai to Qeshm. I agree with you," we need to offer sth people can't get elsewhere" and this is why I post here to find out that you can't get elsewhere as an expert diver. Iran doesn't have visa-free and in these countries, you mentioned only Israel has visa-free for European citizen and others have a fee. Check Visa policy on Wikipedia!
5. There is not any direct flight from Europ to Qeshm but there is direct fly to Dubai, where you can easily reach the Qeshm via 40 minutes flight! In comparison to European flights cost, you are right and people may not be interested in connecting flights but I am not sure about European countries to Dubai flight cost.
   
6. There are many guesthouses and local motels available especially in Qeshm with beach access and they are almost safe and sounds! Qeshm is a registered Geo-Park in the world and has many natural attractions. Just read our blog and find out more about Qeshm attractions and entertainments.- as well as catering to western tastes (i.e. European style bathrooms, bars, and cafe/restaurant) - "Foreign but not too foreign" would well sum up how most Europeans like their overseas holidays.
   
7. At the end invite you to see videos made by European citizen about Iran. I love this one and share it everywhere created by Tolt. Don go to Iran!

Good luck and Again Thank you, any other Idea will be appreciated.

 

[Diving Dubai]

The best diving in the area is across the Gulf from you on the Musandam Peninsula. However it's very challenging with teh currents and beyond most peoples experience levels.

Unfortunately the Gulf suffers from unpredictable visibility - I know I've been diving it every month for the last 5 years. The best type of diving is from a boat which generally means an Arabic Dhow. We don't mind but generally the levels of comfort ae below what a western person on vacation would wish for.

Cost is a huge factor, Aggressor have tried to make a liveaboard work in this area without success. At $3500 a week plus flights, it's in direct competition with boats in the Maldives and those in the Red sea are considerably cheaper. Both destinations have the benefits of guaranteed visibility better infra structure, and freely available alcohol.

While I wish you success, the majority of your customers will be limited to those who live locally. for instance very few divers in the UAe dive the Musandam despite it being an easy drive to Dibba. If they're unwilling to make that journey they're even less likely to take a flight to Iran for diving. Going to visit for other reasons perhaps, but not diving.

Much as I love the Musandam and divign in the area, if I lived in Europe there are better destinations to spend my money on with easier travel routes

 

[HiDeh]

The best diving in the area is across the Gulf from you on the Musandam Peninsula. However it's very challenging with teh currents and beyond most peoples experience levels.

Unfortunately the Gulf suffers from unpredictable visibility - I know I've been diving it every month for the last 5 years. The best type of diving is from a boat which generally means an Arabic Dhow. We don't mind but generally the levels of comfort ae below what a western person on vacation would wish for.

Cost is a huge factor, Aggressor have tried to make a liveaboard work in this area without success. At $3500 a week plus flights, it's in direct competition with boats in the Maldives and those in the Red sea are considerably cheaper. Both destinations have the benefits of guaranteed visibility better infra structure, and freely available alcohol.

While I wish you success, the majority of your customers will be limited to those who live locally. for instance very few divers in the UAe dive the Musandam despite it being an easy drive to Dibba. If they're unwilling to make that journey they're even less likely to take a flight to Iran for diving. Going to visit for other reasons perhaps, but not diving.

Much as I love the Musandam and divign in the area, if I lived in Europe there are better destinations to spend my money on with easier travel routes

Hi and Thanks for your response. Generally, I agree with you but we hope to find a new market and adventurous divers around the world come to the Gulf. Many local people go for diving and when I saw their amateur videos with GoPro and compare with other I believe in Persian Gulf underwater beauty. Maybe some international investors find this virgin market and investing in diving infrastructures.
Regards

 

[Compressor]

@HiDeh: Can you post some UW videos for folks to see?
Thanks.