Alberto Rubio
Iran’s Deputy Minister of Tourism, Ali-Asghar Shalbafian, announced on Friday, during a presentation to Spanish and Iranian tour operators, that “we have decided to open the door to the country by exempting tourists from 33 countries from visas because we want those who visit us to see what the country is really like”.
“Iran does not see tourism only as an economic factor or as an industry”, he stressed during the presentation at the Iranian Embassy in Madrid, “but as something that the world needs now: a vehicle for peace, to show the reality of the countries; as a means to annul false images“. The deputy minister, who is in Madrid to attend Fitur, added that “we know that the image tourists take of Iran when they leave the country is totally different from the one they brought with them, because of the hospitality of our people”.
For his part, Ambassador Reza Zabib encouraged the tour operators to attend the tourism fair that will be inaugurated in Tehran in February, which aims to emphasise that “tourism goes far beyond mere business: it is culture, social exchange, exploring diversity, expanding knowledge and fostering dialogue,” he said.
During the event, the recently constituted ‘Network of Persian-Speaking Tourism Experts’ (Shagarf), an NGO whose objectives include “connecting experts who contribute to promoting tourism, making recommendations to the authorities, organising high-level training courses and cooperating with international organisations, such as UN Tourism”, was presented.
The Secretary-General of UN Tourism, Zurab Pololikashvili, confirmed during his speech that he would be attending the tourism fair in Tehran because, he said, “I want to express my support for the whole region, as the Middle East is now in a countdown to show the world that the region is safe”.
“Tourism is friendship, hospitality and peace,” he insisted, and called on all tour operators present “to see how we can engage in promoting these values”.
