Officials from various sectors discussed the challenges facing marine tourism at a seminar held last week in Asalouyeh, Bushehr Province.
Morteza Rahmani Movahed, tourism deputy at Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization, said with over 3,100 kilometers of coastline in the north and south, the country must focus on maritime tourism, which requires a great deal of planning and policymaking, Mehr News Agency reported.
According to Movahed, following suggestions from a meeting of experts on marine tourism, the organization intends to hold a ‘practical’ rather than a ‘theoretical’ meeting where ideas are finally put into practice and tasks are assigned to relevant authorities.
“The members of Health Tourism Strategic Council have now been given specific duties, which is a step toward achieving our goals and the same needs to be done about marine tourism,” he said.
The meeting is set to be held on December 13-14 in Asalouyeh and a roadmap will soon be provided for the participants of the event following the formation of relevant committees.
Revision of the National Ecotourism Document is another important move toward developing the sector.
“The documents, which contains chapters on the management of marine areas and investment procedures, can be of great help,” he said.
Mohammad Rastad, deputy for maritime affairs at Iran’s Ports and Maritime Organization, pointed to the untapped potential of the country’s coasts that can become popular destinations for both domestic and foreign tourists.
Rastad added that one of his organization’s plans for the sector is to enhance maritime safety, which is “the industry’s missing link.”
“The regular use of substandard and unsafe vessels is an indicator of the deficit and the IPMO is looking to enforce the standards of secure watercraft,” he was quoted as saying by IPMO’s news portal.
In addition to vessels, the coastal infrastructure has to be improved.
“A complete marina requires safe and standard structures, including access bridges and moorings,” he said.
