In a ceremony in Tehran, in presence of French ambassador to Tehran, AccorHotels' chief executive Sebastien Bazin and representatives of Iranian company Aria Ziggurat signed a contract according to it a 4 star hotel and a 5 star one in the vicinity of Imam Khomeini International Airport (IKIA) are handed to the French company.
The two hotels are intended to be reshaped as an Ibis hotel and a Novotel branch.
The hotels are scheduled to open on 15 October with a total of nearly 500 rooms.
Aimed at both international and Iranian business travellers, they will be equipped with meeting rooms, conference spaces, and spas, fitness suites and swimming pools.
“There is an enormous potential for development of our brands in this country of nearly 80 mn inhabitants whose economy is growing fast,” Bazin said.
French ambassador to Tehran Francis Foucher, on the sidelines of the event, told the reporters that Iran is an extraordinary destination for tourists and opening of international chain hotels in Iran will pave the way for other French investors into Tehran.
Iran’s Cultural Heritage and Tourism Investment Company (ICHTIC) has commissioned the contract and Mehdi Jahangiri, the chairman of ICHTIC’s board of directors told the reporters that the French will bring the service of the day to tourism industry of Iran.
Headquartered in Paris, AccorHotels is the world’s sixth-largest hotel group with 3,700 hotels in 92 countries.
Following the conclusion of nuclear talks between Iran and 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) on July 14, European business executives and politicians are shuttling to Iran to lay the groundwork for investment and trade.