A top official with state broadcaster expressed its readiness to launch a specialized radio station for tourism in the upcoming summer during a meeting with the authorities of Iran's Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization.
Hamid Shahabadi, deputy for radio services at the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, said the station's trial run could begin in late June for three months.
"We are ready to initiate its permanent run as Iran's 17th official radio station following the provision of infrastructure," he was quoted as saying by ISNA.
The official added that the radio broadcasting service has already been determined to serve tourism and various stations have produced programs in this regard.
"Nothing can play a more significant role in tourism promotion than the media. We are ready for any sort of cooperation and all stations are at ICHHTO's full service to help achieve the target of attracting 20 million foreign tourists annually by 2025 outlined in the 20-Year Vision Plan," he noted.
Shahabadi pointed to radio's versatile nature as its advantage in reaching out to the traveling audience.
Accessibility
"In many stages of a trip, radio is the most accessible media and can easily transfer information to travelers at different hours of the day," he said.
Mohammad Hassan Talebian, cultural heritage deputy at ICHHTO, also said all the affiliated cultural and historical complexes are ready to cooperate by developing content for the channel's programs.
"Iran has huge capacities that should be introduced to domestic and foreign tourists through the media," he said.
Mohammad Moheb-Khodaei, ICHHTO's tourism deputy, commended the effective cooperation of the IRIB which is certain to produce favorable results.
"Tourism is an intersectoral industry which requires the collaboration of different entities to progress; ICHHTO, as the main authority in charge of the industry, is a coordinator," he said.
According to Moheb-Khodaei, the IRIB had already agreed to more seriously engage in the business and highlight tourism in its programs.
Harbinger
"The radio station is expected to be a prelude to the launch of a specified television channel for tourism," he said.
However, the officials did not provide details about the policies of the station. It is not yet clear in what times of the day and in what language the programs will be broadcast.
Despite all the promising statements, the tourism society is not very optimistic about the radio station's operation since previous pledges to inaugurate a television channel for the purpose have not been fulfilled.
The topic of a tourism TV channel first came up in 2004. In 2012, the then chief of ICHHTO Hassan Mousavi had announced that the channel would be inaugurated in Eid al-Fitr as per agreements with IRIB. Six years from the date, the television channel is yet to be introduced.
