With the decree of Ali Asghar Mounesan, the head of Iran's Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization, on Wednesday, Delavar Bozorgnia was officially appointed as director of Tehran's office to be the third person to take the position in less than two months.
Rajabali Khosroabadi, the twelfth provincial director who had headed the office for four years, was replaced by Majid Mahdavi in late February.
Although Mahdavi had talked of long-term plans, he was apparently appointed as an interim director because the invitation letter for the inauguration of the Louvre exhibition in Iran National Museum on Sunday was addressed to Bozorgnia, ISNA reported.
During his 45-day stint, Mahdavi only spoke to reporters once while visiting heritage sites in Rey County to the south of the capital. He announced plans to launch a think tank to rescue and safeguard Tehran's cultural heritage.
He also declared his intention to organize monthly gatherings with reporters and cultural heritage NGOs.
"From now on, plans should be made and standards developed before problems get acute," he said at the time.
New Chairman
Bozorgnia, the new director designate, is a graduate of history and law from Tajikistan's universities, who formerly served as head of Mazandaran's ICHHTO office.
He had earlier held positions at provincial departments of the ministries of education and culture, Iran Cultural Heritage and Tourism Investment Group, Advertising and Exhibitions Company affiliated to ICHHTO and Iran Tourism Development Corporation.
Although a local news agency had claimed that Bozorgnia was retired in August 2016, he dismissed it telling ISNA "I haven't retired yet".
In his letter of appointment, Mounesan has cited his "commitment and experiences" as a reason for his selection to head the capital's office.
He has listed a number of targets that Bozorgnia is expected to meet during his chairmanship.
Organizing innovative programs in the tourism and handicrafts sectors, enhancing the quality of hotels and restaurants, promoting museums, protecting heritage sites, drawing on the capacities of the private sector, interacting with provincial officials and preparing the ground for the promotion of ICHHTO personnel were among the expectations.
Disrupting Shift
The capital's ICHHTO office has been headed by 15 directors so far.
The office's chairperson has been changed twice in the final days of the Iranian year (ending March 20) when all cities devise and implement plans to prepare for Norouz holidays.
This rotation could hinder the efforts and lead to chaos in the execution of plans for the occasion with each director setting different priorities.
This is while the repeated change of management in the organization's headquarters has already been discussed as an obstacle in the way of the country's development in tourism as well as the other two sectors under its jurisdiction.
Advocates of the establishment of a tourism ministry, chiefly among lawmakers, have also seized on the issue to prove that an elevation in its status can be a good thing because it could guarantee consistency in chairmanship.
