The head of Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization has called on Iranian embassies in foreign countries to help promote the county as a favored travel destination.
“Embassies can act as promoters of Iran’s tourism industry by endorsing the country’s numerous but little-known attractions,” Ali Asghar Mounesan said. During his Sunday meeting with Gholamreza Ansari, deputy for economy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mounesan underlined "poor presentation of the country's beauties" as one major barrier to the industry's development, ILNA reported.
Tourism authorities stress that Iran should utilize all its options to realize the country's long-term goal of attracting 20 million tourists annually by 2025.
"Embassies, therefore, can work in line with the target and contribute to efforts to introduce Iran to foreigners and erase the negative image of Iran assumed by many abroad," Mounesan said. The official noted that Iran has determined Turkey, China and EU states as target source countries for inbound tourism but tight budgets impede efforts to publicize the country in the markets.
"Iranian consular bodies and the Foreign Ministry in general can help fill the gap," he said.
Key Platforms
Pointing to international tourism and handicrafts events as key platforms to introduce Iran to the world, the official called on the Foreign Ministry to facilitate Iran's participation by negotiating to obtain proper pavilions as well as providing financial assistance. Ansari responded positively to the call, saying that "all embassies are at tourism's full service".
He agreed that the false image of the country created by media propaganda should be changed.
"Besides, we should target the Muslim population in countries such as India to boost our tourism," he said.
The official added that Iranians abroad can also be seen as potential tourists. "Iranian embassies can promote the tourism potential of the country to motivate expatriates to make a trip to Iran," he said.
