The Ninth Tehran International Tourism Exhibition opened on Tuesday at the Tehran Permanent Fairgrounds following a ceremony attended by Masoud Soltanifar, the head of the Iran Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization, and Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli.
The four-day event includes participants from 16 countries, namely Spain, Thailand, the Republic of Azerbaijan, Turkey, Russia, Vietnam, Malaysia, South Korea, Greece, Italy, Oman, China, Iraq, Bangladesh, Syria, and Sri Lanka.
Teams from all the provinces are displaying their regions’ attractions, from historical sites to traditional handicrafts and ancient rituals. However, a lack of proper signs and directions for visitors to the nine halls and pavilions caused some confusion on the opening day. The majority of the pavilions belong to domestic and international tour operators and airline companies.
Investment firms, hotels, car rentals, insurance companies and tourism publications are other participants. Russia and Greece have the largest pavilions among foreign exhibitors, but it was unclear which country has the largest presence, organizers said.
Hoping to capitalize on the its sudden rise in popularity among young Iranians through its music and movies, South Korea has set up an attractive pavilion. A member of the Korean delegation told the Financial Tribune that his country is planning to launch direct flights between Tehran and Seoul.
Health tourism providers also have a relatively strong presence this year with hospitals and health centers almost completely occupying a hall. In recent months Tehran has made known that it wants to draw on the huge ability and potential of the national medical sector to promote health tourism along with the general tourism industry.
This year’s expo seems to be larger and more organized than previous years with a more diverse participation. Last year, only 11 countries took part. The exhibition will conclude on Friday.
