The need to emulate successful countries in the tourism industry
One of the most important mechanisms in strengthening the country’s economy; Laying the groundwork for tourism development. This will be achieved when the 13th government, in addition to removing domestic obstacles to the growth of the industry, pays special attention to the success of tourism in other countries.
One of the components that the Iranian tourism industry needs for global interaction is to take advantage of the capacity of foreign embassies in Tehran and Iranian ambassadors abroad. This capacity has never been used properly, and diplomacy in the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Tourism has so far had a fantasy and media approach. Accordingly, the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts, in fact, needs more than expertise from a minister who has a position in the cabinet and government decision-making centers and can put his word to a chair. Fortunately, Ezatullah Zarghami, due to his years of activity in the national media, seems to be influential in the governing bodies and is a better known figure than other cabinet ministers. This feature will increase the bargaining power of the Ministry of Tourism. These are some of the words of Abbas Mehdi, a tourism activist, about a suitable solution for the transformation of Iran’s tourism industry.
Slogan of World Tourism Day 2021
Undoubtedly, the outbreak of Corona virus in Iran has caused damage to Iran’s tourism industry, and not only Iran but also to developed and developing economies, but with widespread vaccination and the possibility of the virus disappearing, tourism has grown for another year. And the resumption of tourism will help improve and grow the industry. Therefore, the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has chosen the slogan “Tourism for Inclusive Growth” as the slogan of World Tourism Day in 2021. World Tourism Day is celebrated every year on September 27, coinciding with the 5th of October, with the aim of raising awareness of the social, cultural, political and economic values of this industry and its contribution to achieving the goals of sustainable development.
In Iran, Kerman province with seven world registration works has the highest number of world registration works among the provinces of the country; Bam Citadel (the largest brick structure in the world), Dastkand Meymand village with several thousand years old, Prince Garden with unique architectural features of its mansion, Lut desert plain in Shahdad region of Kerman from where the world’s oldest flag is obtained and three aqueducts “Goharriz” Jopar has been registered in Kerman, Akbarabad and Qasem Abad in Bam.
The role of sanctions and other obstacles to tourism growth in Iran
In the last few years, in addition to Corona, the harsh US sanctions have dealt a second blow to Iran’s tourism industry, and these reasons have prevented the government from providing more aid to this sector, as in previous years. In fact, tourism was one of the industries these days. , Which is one hundred percent damaged and according to global statistics, more than $ 100 billion has been damaged to tourism around the world. Of course, in addition to these, Iran, despite its great potential in terms of tourist attractions and biodiversity, has not yet had a good position in attracting tourists. However, given the importance of the issue, governments are trying to maximize their potential to attract tourists through appropriate policies and planning. Because, in addition to earning money and improving the economic cycle of countries, this measure has a great impact on introducing the customs and culture of countries to others. It is necessary for the authorities to put activities on the agenda in line with specific planning, localization and development of this industry, which, of course, achieved successes and desirable results in the twelfth government, but undoubtedly this industry needs more serious attention. It should be noted that the most important economic feature of activities related to the tourism sector is that they contribute to the top three goals of developed countries such as income generation, employment and foreign exchange earnings. In this regard, the tourism sector can play an important role as a driver of economic development.
Other obstacles to the growth of the tourism industry in Iran can be the project of Iranophobia of the enemies of the Islamic Republic, intense advertising and marketing of rival countries to attract more tourists, including attracting the Iranian market, low volume of foreign investment in Iran’s tourism industry, migration of tourism professionals and guilds. Other active industries and businesses pointed to the widespread destruction of natural and cultural heritage due to the behavior of tourists and travelers, the mere attention to travel and the lack of travel culture and its moral and environmental consequences, and so on.
Some strategies for tourism growth
In this regard, and to improve the growth of tourism in Iran, we should pay attention to the reasons for the growth of this industry in some countries, including Turkey and Thailand, and set an example in Iran, for example, most tourism in Turkey in different historical places and residences. Focused on the coast. Therefore, in recent years, the country has been able to contribute to the growth of its tourism industry by seriously focusing on these two sectors and developing its infrastructure. Also, with the development of its health care, this country has been able to attract countless tourists and be in a special place. Creating a safe environment for further expansion of cooperation and participation of the private and public sectors in the tourism industry is another goal that Turkey is pursuing.
The country is also trying to attract investors to create new tourism projects in various cities in Turkey to help attract more foreign tourists. All these factors go hand in hand with Turkey attracting more than $ 12.6 billion in revenue in the first half of 2019, attracting 18 million foreign tourists.
In this regard, Shahab Talaei, a university professor and director of the tourism department at the Parliamentary Research Center, believes that we should learn from the Turkish model in the political challenge. He said: “A country like Turkey has political differences with many countries, but manages in a way that does not differ in tourism, but if we have a challenge with a country, it will quickly spread to other sectors, so if it is supposed to have a political position This order should be from the government so that the link between other areas is deepened and not damaged, or at least manage the effects of that decision, or proceed with a consultative approach to the activists in this sector.
In the thirteenth government, Ezatullah Zarghami, the Minister of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts, in his plan for the development of this industry emphasizes on “the development of family-centered domestic tourism in Islamic Iran.” It has also been said about domestic tourism: This type of travel in Iran, which is generally due to the tendency to visit relatives or pilgrimages, is declining in terms of quality of experience, and despite some legal capacity, the Islamic Republic of Iran in the last four decades It has no clear and purposeful plans for the development of domestic tourism.
The Minister of Tourism also mentioned the thirteenth point of improvement in Iran’s tourism in his government program, the most important of which are to create a dialogue and understanding between stakeholders and key players in tourism, change policymakers’ views on the development of family-centered domestic tourism. Establishing necessary mechanisms for separating implementation and policy-making and strengthening the private and cooperative sector, providing a documented system and up-to-date statistics of the tourism sector, tourism budgeting based on the duties and powers of various agencies, amending foreign investment laws to enable micro-investments in Iran’s tourism industry by foreigners He noted the use of the capacity of Iranians abroad to market the tourism and investment industry, improve the mechanism for producing advertising content for the country by developing a coherent advertising strategy using virtual and cohesive media, and increase the capacity of the Foreign Ministry’s Tourism Diplomacy Office to create more role models. .