In a trip to Lorestan on Thursday, Ali Asghar Mounesan, head of Iran's Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization, met with provincial authorities who made a point of voicing demands for the betterment of the province's travel industry.
"It is not proper that on holidays people just head for northern provinces, braving hours-long traffic jams … although these areas have multiple attractions, the natural beauties of western provinces are no less in their allure," the officials said.
Mousa Khademi, governor general of Lorestan, complained that the province has not received due attention in terms of tourism the way it deserves and hoped that Mounesan's journey will help redress the situation, CHTN reported.
"The historical and natural attractions combined with the locals' warm hospitality signal that tourism should be the pivot of development in Lorestan," he said.
Khademi added that the general governorate has earmarked 530 billion rials ($12 million) of its budget to give a boost to the travel sector this year. The industry has also drawn around seven trillion rials ($160 million) worth of investment, according to him.
"In spite of the rather inadequate infrastructure, the province was popular with travelers during the New Year period," he said calling on the ICHHTO headquarters to provide support and guidance toward achieving the tourism goals.
Lagging Sectors
Majid Kianpour, a lawmaker representing Lorestan, lamented that low-interest loans are not granted for tourism projects in the province.
"Most of the investors are in conflict with banks; more than 10 projects in different cities are on hold due to these problems," he said.
He also mentioned the handicrafts sector, regretting that out of 150 crafts, only 60 have survived.
"Local artisans demand more attention to the promotion of their crafts," he said. Insurance coverage, training courses to bring the crafts up to global standards and advertisement and marketing for the products were among other demands of the crafts people.
Heritage Protection
Challenges regarding the protection of heritage sites are among the issues facing the province's ICHHTO office.
Colonel Abbas Dolatshahi, head of the protection unit at ICHHTO's provincial office, said with 5,000 historical sites, of which 2,400 have been nationally inscribed, the province lacks adequate facilities for their protection.
"Many of these sites are located in hard-to-reach places where appropriate equipment is needed to keep careful watch on them," he said. The association of travel agencies also called for more support through low-interest loans as these institutes are the best platforms for the development of Lorestan's tourism.
A representative of the province's NGOs also called for efforts to inscribe certain sites including Gahar Lake, Falak-ol-Aflak Castle and Bisheh waterfall in global lists.
Mounesan said ICHHTO is planning to present the file for inscription of Falak-ol-Aflak in 2020, but "if military groups evacuate it in time, the dossier can be submitted next year."
During his visit to the Dorud railroad facilities, he also vowed that upon his return he will make efforts to direct the tourist trains that are currently active on certain routes across the country toward Lorestan.
"The route has a fascinating view that seems capable of turning into a destination," he said.
