As business owners in the tourism sector believe, participation in international exhibitions is not the only available option to introduce Iran to the world.
“Attending international exhibitions can play a crucial role in promoting Iran’s tourism and travel industry. However, the mass media and satellite TV can and should also be taken into consideration for effective development of national tourism,” the Persian daily Donya-e-Eqtesad quoted a member of the Iranian Tour Operators Association’s managing board, Mohammad Ali Vaqefi, as saying.
Participating in international events is not enough; development of national tourism needs a package including other means of promotion such as advertisement programs via satellite TV, out-of-home advertising and spreading public awareness through the variety of media outlets, he said.
It is up to state-run organizations to improve Iran’s global image. The government apparatus needs to introduce tourism properly in its overseas programs that were missing in the past years. In the current year Iran has been active in international tourism expos “but that does not absolve the crucial need for promoting and advertising tourism.”
Iran’s private sector has said often that such promotional programs are the function of the government and its large number of affiliated organizations. State officials, however, complain about the staggering costs of advertisements through the media and satellite TV and often refer to the bitter reality that “there are not funds for tourism promotion in the first place.”
