A proposed comprehensive tourism plan for Chaharmahal-Bakhtiari has done little to help curb the soaring unemployment rate in the province as it has languished in the Cabinet for two years pending endorsement.
Chaharmahal-Bakhtiari has the highest number of jobless people among all provinces with an unemployment rate of 18.3%.
Abundant natural and historical attractions of the province prompted officials to exploit the potential of tourism to combat the detrimental social problem.
Reportedly, the comprehensive plan was prepared in 2016 and approved by the Provincial Planning and Development Council in a session attended by then-ICHHTO head Masoud Soltanifar.
"It was about to make its way to the government for approval and allocation of funds but was postponed until after the completion of a more general countrywide tourism plan," Bahman Askari Savadjani, head of the provincial office of Iran's Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization, told ILNA.
According to Eqbal Abbasi, governor general of Chaharmahal-Bakhtiari, the scheme was finally submitted to the cabinet several months ago but has not been reviewed yet.
Fresh Impetus
As the government is underlining the role of tourism in helping boost the country's economy and reduce its dependence on oil, calls have been renewed on the incumbent ICHHTO chief Ali Asghar Mounesan to consider the scheme.
"We asked Mounesan to give special attention to the plan because funds will only be supplied after the Cabinet's green light," the official said. Abbasi stressed that given the large number of unemployed individuals in the province, timely review of the document is essential.
"Jobs are no longer confined to industry and agriculture sectors alone and the service sector is generating 50% of employments today," he said, adding that the historical and natural beauties of the province can provide a solution to its residents' working woes.
The plan defines various tourist zones and determines what operations can be carried out in each.
It specially focuses on the natural attractions of Chaharmahal-Bakhtiari because the province is particularly known for its ecotourism capacities. The required budget for the scheme was estimated at 1 trillion rials ($24 million) at the time it was devised.
"With an annual allocation of 200 billion rials [$4.7 million], the plan would be complete in five years. But a greater sum is definitely needed today," Savadjani said.
