Iranian diplomatic missions need tourism attachés to help attract investors and travelers alike, according to Mohammad Savidanlouei, director of North Khorasan’s chapter of the Iran Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization.
At a meeting of the provincial working group for non-oil exports and attended by Iran’s commercial attachés in target countries, Savidanlouei emphasized the role of tourism envoys in the development of the key travel industry and urged authorities to assign qualified people for the job in diplomatic missions in target countries.
“Developing countries are reaping the benefit from their tourism attachés because they have recognized the need for such a position in the increasingly competitive sector,” Savidanlouei said, according to the Persian daily Donya-e-Eqtesad.
Referring to tourism as an “invisible export”, the official highlighted the key role that commercial attachés can and should play in developing Iran’s budding tourism industry.
He pointed to their interaction with businesses and noted that commercial attachés are aware of the preferences of business tourists.
“That’s why [commercial attachés] are invaluable assets, more so than ever before,” he added.
In collaboration with the Foreign Ministry, ICHHTO has compiled a list of 40 markets worldwide, based on various criteria, to promote Iranian tourism. The list has not been revealed, but media reports have it that China, Russia and India are the top three.
