Enforcing strict security measures throughout Tehran and controlling people is not what the planned "tourism police unit" is for, according to a senior tourism official in Tehran Province.
Last week, the Police Department agreed to form a tourism police unit and set up base in the Iranian capital where foreign visitors can go for help and resolve any grievances.
"The unit's purpose is to help tourists deal with problems they might be facing, nothing more. The department has various units, each tasked with a duty. We needed a police unit to provide services tourists might need," said Rajabali Khosroabadi, the head of the provincial office of Iran's Cultural Heritage, Handicraft and Tourism Organization, ISNA reported.
Furthermore, to help foreign visitors pursue complaints even after they have left the country, the official said the organization can represent tourists in legal cases.
"A tourist who has been a victim of pick-pocketing and has lost important documents will naturally file a report, but they can't stay in Iran until the case is finalized," Khosroabadi said.
"So, we've reached an agreement with the judiciary, which allows the legal arm of ICHHTO to represent tourists in legal cases."
When filing a report at a police station, tourists are given a separate form that allows them to select the organization as their attorney.
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