If you are planning a trip to an exotic destination like Iran, a simple search in Google will provide you with many (and even sometimes too many) options.
And although there will be many different offers that you can select from, it can be confusing to find the right option or you may simply find the one that is not exactly the best travel agency ever! In this article, we will try to explain some simple ways that can help you find the right agency in Iran.
The reasons to do so are numerous. First, you will pay a more reasonable price in comparison to a package bought from an intermediary.
Second, the offers from a trusted Iranian local agency are normally closer to a real local experience, as they are designed with local people in the destination.
And because of the same reason, it finally will be easier to customize and personalize such offer than a pre-prepared package. So, it is a logical decision to go for a local agency when you plan your trip to a foreign country.
Fortunately, the trusted inbound agencies in Iran always offer English (and in some cases, other languages as well such as French, Spanish or German) contents on their website and ease the process of selection for you.
There are two important organization in Iran which provide private agencies with a license that shows the agency is trustworthy and is working within the legal rules of the country.
The first one is ITOA (Iranian Tour Operators Association) which is a specialized association of inbound tour operators.
More than 200 Iranian tour operators and travel agencies actively involved in inbound tourism are among the members of the Association.
Website: http://www.itoa.ir/en/members/ (In English)
The next one is called AATTAI The Association of Air Transport and Tourist Agencies.
Website: https://aattai.org (In Farsi)
Both will hand an English certificate to the legit agencies and you can ask them to send the certificate to you or check it on their website and make sure that the agency is legit and working legally and properly.
This is actually one of the most complicated parts of the process, as due to the sanctions SWIFT is instructed to disconnect Iranian banks form the network.
So, money transfer is not as easy as it should be and, in many cases, it is not possible to use your credit card. However, there are other possibilities such as transferring money to a valid currency exchange office that an agency might offer you as a paying method.
Although it doesn’t sound so straightforward, but is a safe way and you can trust to do this, if you trust the agency and you are sure that is a legit one.
Fortunately, and due to the existence of many valid reviewing sites, it is not that complicated nowadays to know more about the real services offered by an agency after a trip.
There are sites such as TripAdvisor which provide with the comments from people who have actually had the real experience.
However, fake reviews are a growing problem. In September 2019, consumer organization Which? said TripAdvisor was still failing to stop fake reviews. Its survey of nearly 250,000 reviews for the ten top-ranked hotels in ten popular tourist destinations around the world found that one in seven had "blatant hallmarks" of fake positive reviews.
Recently, a gentleman in the UK just exposed how easy it is to mislead people on the site by rocketing his restaurant to the #1 position in London, based completely on fake TripAdvisor reviews. Previously, he was employed to write fictitious reviews for businesses and decided to expose the flaws in the site by launching a completely imaginary restaurant called The Shed at Dulwich.
There is also a ranking provided by BookMundi, which shows the best travel agencies in Iran (https://www.bookmundi.com/iran/tour-operators).
But, there also can be fake comments or not any at all. In such cases, it is a good idea to ask the agency to help you get in touch with some of their previous client (by email, for example) and ask directly about their experiences. A trustworthy agency will surely do its best to help you in this process.
There are simple facts that can help you distinguish a good agency from a bad one. First, the number of operated tours or in general, the background of the agency.
Second, if they are recommended by the previous clients or no. The price is another important factor to pay attention to, as the very cheap packages can sometimes act as a red flag. And last, but not least, the interaction of the agency with you as a costumer in the pre-sale process.
A trustworthy agency provides you with any details you wish to know, acts patiently and considers all of your reasonable concerns and tries to resolve them.
Interview the agent
Don't pick the first agent you find. Talk to the travel pro. Find out how long he or she has been in business. Ask about fees (yes, they charge booking fees, but they're worth it if you get into a pinch). I would recommend conducting the interview in person.
Pay close attention not only to the way your prospective agent responds, but also at what's going on in the office around you. Are the other agents taking the time to talk with customers, or do they only seem interested in pressuring their clients to make a booking decision? Does the agent you're interviewing seem distracted or focused on trying to help you? If you don't like what you see, move on.
So, it is always better to do the research, but decide based on your observations when you start interacting with an agency.
