A food festival is scheduled to be held in parallel with a tourism exhibition in early September in Mashhad, Khorasan Razavi Province, to explore gastronomic delights of the religious tourism hub.
"Mashhad's international fairgrounds will host the festival from September 2 to 6, alongside an international exhibition of tourism and related industries," Yousef Bidkhori, a deputy head of the provincial office of Iran's Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization, said.
"The festival aims, among other things, to promote the restaurants that serve local cuisine, typically a distinguished feature of popular tourist cities, as well as the Iranian culinary culture and traditional dishes, as the most exotic Iranian products," he was quoted by CHTN as saying on Monday.
It is intended as a platform to display and introduce the local cuisine, food souvenirs and the products of domestic food companies and will also feature food-related rituals, expert debates and cooking contests, the tourism official said.
The event would help boost employment in the catering industry and broaden the tourist appeal of the northeastern city by diversifying its attractions, Bidkhori added.
The native cuisine features high on the tourists' list of factors to consider when deciding tour itineraries.
Dream Destination
Mashhad is one of the hottest Iranian destinations as it is home to the shrine of Imam Reza (PBUH), the eighth Shia Imam, which draws over 27 million Iranian and two million foreign pilgrims every year.
Based on a recent report by the Travel Market Report, an increasing number of young tourists hold food-related experiences in high regard.
With over 2,500 types of food and 109 drinks, Iran holds great potential to become a dream destination for gourmet tourists.
According to a recent data from the World Tourism Organization, food expenditure constitutes almost 30% of the global tourism income.
