Tehran Int’l Tourism Expo Kicks Off

The 10th Tehran International Tourism Exhibition opens today at the Tehran Permanent Fairgrounds and will continue until Feb. 9. 

Over 60 companies from 21 countries and some 400 Iranian companies are attending the expo themed "See Iran Differently", ISNA reported. 

Around 35,700 square meters of space, including 10 halls and more than 17,000 sqm of outdoor space, have been allocated to the exhibition, which signify a 15% increase compared to last year's event.

According to Morteza Rahmani Movahed, tourism deputy at Iran's Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization, this year's expo is meant to be significantly different from past editions both in terms of quality and quantity. 

"We intend to add variety to this year's event. For instance, in Hall 38, Iran's attractions are divided into seven regional categories," he said. Tourism ministers from several countries as well as delegations from Lebanon, Afghanistan, Iraq, Zimbabwe, Turkey, Kazakhstan and Switzerland will participate in the exhibition. 

"We will focus on branding Iran's tourism exhibition to further promote our country," he said. 

Iran's tourism expo has been incorporated in the calendar of United Nation's World Tourism Organization as an international event. The purpose is to expand the scope of Iran's tourism from a regional to a global level. 

"We believe that our country must improve to meet international standards," Movahed said. He expressed optimism about the future of Iran's tourism, stressing that global political changes will not have a negative impact on the industry. 

"Iran's doors are open to the world and the country will be a popular destination in 2017," he said.

Last year's exhibition was visited by 245,000 people, which experts say could have been higher were it not for the bad timing of the event. 

The Tehran expo coincided with the 37th  International Fair of Tourism (February 19-22) in the Serbian capital Belgrade. 

The largest such expo in southeast Europe and a popular platform among industry professionals, the Serbian event is believed to have overshadowed TITE, drawing tens of thousands of potential visitors away from Tehran.

This year, the exhibition is being held almost two weeks before the Serbian event, so hopes are high for a larger turnout.