Construction work on Iran’s first theme park on Kish Island is well underway but still far from completion.
Called Laaki Island, work on the theme park began in late 2014. The park’s name is derived from the Persian word for turtle — laakposht — which is commonly spotted off the island’s coasts.
The park’s theme is said to have been inspired by the local culture of the island’s indigenous people.
As of yet, it is not clear when Laaki Island will open to the public.
“Like any other large-scale project, this will take time, especially since we have to draw on local culture to develop a theme,”Mohammad Moheb Khodaei, the tourism deputy at the Kish Free Zone Organization, told ISNA.
He added that the theme park along with other projects, such as television shows and promotional teasers, help boost tourism to one of Iran’s top holiday destinations and help market the island as the quintessential vacation spot for families.
“Kish is a paradise for family holidays; that’s our motto,” Khodaei said. “We’re trying to turn the island into an alternative destination to Turkey and Dubai.”
Among the KFZO’s plans to promote the island’s tourism industry is a television series that aims to introduce Kish’s potential for family holidays, “which will be aired on national and foreign channels.”
The organization is also producing an educational TV program whose main characters, a dolphin and a turtle, teach children about Work in Progress sustainable tourism and environmental conservation.
