Ways to tap the employment potential of the tourism sector were explored in talks between Minister of Cooperatives, Labor and Social Welfare Ali Rabiei and Ali Asghar Mounesan, head of Iran's Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization.
The meeting, last week, mainly focused on cooperation between the two organizations to help achieve the objectives of the Comprehensive Employment Scheme and the Rural Employment Scheme, the Persian economic daily Donya-e-Eqtesad reported.
Mounesan, who doubles as vice president, highlighted the vast scope for job creation offered by the tourism sector, saying, "That potential can be fulfilled through planning and heightened cooperation with other organizations to help generate jobs and revenues for the country."
Local economic development can be spurred by capitalizing on the appeal of historical monuments and converting buildings in the ancient quarters of the cities into tourist lodges, he said.
"A total of 71 historical buildings have been repurposed so far and 1500 ecolodges are planned to be launched in the near future, each employing eight people on average," Mounesan noted.
Specialized Transport System
The vice president also announced a plan to set up a tourist transport system that "would help upgrade the country's aging transport fleet."
"We have had negotiations with traffic police to issue tourist number plates for the new vehicles."
Mounesan said his organization could prove key to implementing the government's two large-scale job initiatives.
Rabiei said ICHHTO was envisaged to help deliver 20% of the employment target under the inclusive scheme.
"In light of ICHHTO's capabilities, we discussed the funding sources for these schemes in the meeting and agreed to supply the whole budget for the plan and also, if need be, use other resources to ensure the effective implementation of the comprehensive job initiative," the minister said.
