Smart Travel Management Network Launched

A centralized smart management network for the travel sector has been launched by Iran's Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization, to make information, statistics and plans available to the public.

Mohammad Moheb-Khodaei, tourism deputy at ICHHTO, said the system integrates all activities and prevents parallel work while it facilitates proper supervision on tourism affairs and helps devise plans and strategies for the future, CHTN reported.

"Access to the system is available to everyone and the data will be useful for managers, investors and the academia," he added. The website is a public forum where all tourism-related activities could be monitored.

"We will control provincial offices through the system. Users will not have to wait and can present their schemes, request permits, learn about capacities and opportunities, and register their complaints and suggestions," Moheb-Khodaei said.

Reliable statistics are also updated and the release of false figures will no longer be possible.

Moheb-Khodaei stressed that the preparation of the system took four months and all relevant organizations will be linked to it soon.

"It will not be possible to evade responsibilities anymore," he said. The entries of the website include schemes and strategic plans, general documents and regulations, analytical statistics and indices, business permits, share of tourism in gross domestic product and tourism calendar, as well as national and international agreements.

However, the contents of several sections have not been uploaded yet and other sections offer limited information, which the official promised, will be completed soon.

Data on tourist numbers are presented in different categories, including ecotourism, marine, religious, business and sport tourism, with comparative statistics of two years next to the future projections.

There are also entries on strategies to enhance the sectors, but the information is not complete yet.

The system was unveiled at the 11th Tehran Tourism Exhibition (Jan. 23-26) but it is still vague and unclear to many directors and activists.

This is while Moheb-Khodaei had claimed that the linkup with provincial authorities had started earlier before the system's official inauguration.