The first international exhibition of tourism economy and investment titled "Tourist City" kicked off at Tehran's Iran Mall on Sunday during a ceremony attended by the head and tourism deputy of Iran's Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization.
The 4-day event which is organized by ICHHTO in cooperation with Kanoon Iran Novin advertising agency is underway in a 15,000-square-meter space with around 250 pavilions.
Jamshid Asna-Ashari, director of Iran Mall's public relations office, gave a speech and was followed by Mohammad Moheb Khodaei, tourist deputy at ICHHTO, who highlighted the benefits of "tourist city".
Ali Asghar Mounesan also took the podium and gave a short talk before setting off to visit the stalls.
Primary Aim
The main goal of the exhibition is to improve the ability of cities to attract more tourists by introducing their capacities to domestic and foreign investors as well as the public.
Paving the way for stronger interaction between state and private sectors in tourism and identifying the industry's challenges, strengths and weaknesses and enhancing its status among authorities and the public are among other purposes of the event.
Hotels, lodging facilities and tourist sites, financial institutions, banks and insurance companies, hotel management training institutes, specialized journals and other related industries will have a chance to showcase their capabilities in the expo.
Travel agencies will also be able to promote their domestic tours.
It is planned to be accompanied by innovative entertaining programs so as to offer an enjoyable experience to visitors, making it distinct from regular expos.
Based on plans, qualified cities are to be officially given a Tourist City license during the event as well.
Novel Concept
Tourist City, a term that has been introduced by ICHHTO since Mounesan took office as its head, aims to plan urban services to cater to visitors as well as residents.
The present event is part of attempts to instill the term into the public mind as a common brand.
"What we are seeking to gain by Tourist City is to help boost tourism with no reliance on government budgets… We are looking to involve urban authorities first, and then the public, in building a Tourist City," Mounesan had earlier said in a meeting with the advertising agency's staff.
Creating investment opportunities is another key purpose of the exhibition. Mounesan had emphasized that the event should encourage the signing of agreements.
"It should be planned in a way that statistics about the number of signed contracts can be released at the end of the event," he said.
