Zanjan’s insignificant contribution to the tourism industry

Zanjan province has a small share of the tourism industry despite its special geographical location and pristine historical and natural attractions. Today, the tourism industry is one of the most effective industries, which plays an essential role in many other fields in addition to economic benefit, unfortunately, our country, despite its many capabilities, has not been able to get a share of tourism as it should. Zanjan province and especially The city of Zanjan is no exception to this rule, and with its extensive tourism capacities, it is still at the beginning of exploiting this potential.

Currently, more than 2,000 historical monuments have been identified in the province, of which 914 have been registered in the national and international lists with the necessary mechanisms, and include four classes of natural monuments, movable, immovable and intangible heritage.

In the Nowruz plan to welcome tourists last year from March 26, 1400 to April 13 this month, 79,833 people visited the historical, cultural and tourist attractions of the province, of which 103 were foreign visitors and 79,730 were foreign visitors. was also made up of domestic tourists, which is a small share of tourists compared to the neighboring provinces.

Although the authorities try to smooth the presence of domestic and foreign tourists throughout the province by taking measures on various occasions, especially the weeks leading up to Nowruz, but so far there has not been much success in this regard, and Zanjan has always been a transitory province. Tourism and not the destination has been mentioned.

Now, one should ask why Zanjan province, with its unique and pristine historical monuments such as Soltanieh Global Dome or Katle Khor Cave, could not be introduced as a tourist destination province in the country? In other words, where is the problem and problem that many travelers and tourists do not have much desire to be in Zanjan province?

The lack of infrastructure is the cause of weakening the Zanjan tourism industry

Some citizens of Zanjan believe that despite the work done by the authorities in charge of the matter, the lack of pleasant entertainment and accommodation centers has made the people of other provinces of the country not interested in visiting Zanjan.

35-year-old Hasan Rahimi is one of the citizens of Zanjan, and referring to the many problems related to the lack of tourists in the province, he says: All parts of Zanjan have numerous and diverse attractions, but unfortunately, the lack of necessary infrastructure Travelers do not want to visit the province.

He adds: It should be noted that the tourism of Zanjan province is not only limited to the city of Zanjan, and other cities of the province should also be given fair attention in providing tourism infrastructure, for example, the route to Kedar to Garmab or the route to Dash Kasan Temple (temple Azhda) in Soltanieh is still clay and these issues have a negative impact on the development of tourism.

According to this citizen, proper access ways, strengthening infrastructure and increasing comfort facilities are among the important issues that should be taken into consideration by those in charge, and the realization of this matter also depends on coherent and purposeful planning.

Salt men of Zulfiqari Mansion, Zanjan 🔺️🔺️

The construction of cable cars is the main necessity of tourism development in the province

Director General of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts of Zanjan stated that this province has a very small contribution to the tourism industry despite its capacities and natural and historical attractions. It is desirable to be used to attract tourists.

He added: 10 Iranian provinces are one to four hours away from Zanjan, and in fact more than 50% of Iran’s population lives around this province, and more investigations should be done on the reason why Zanjan has not been able to make a better contribution to attracting tourists. Zanjan has unique buildings such as laundry and Kedar Nabi, which should be used in a good way to attract tourists.

Pointing to the approach of Nowruz as one of the world heritages of Iranians and the increase in Nowruz trips, Safavi added: During the 10 months of this year, more than 70,000 travelers arrived in the province, but still, we have a very small share in the tourism industry.

He stated that our country has 11 world crafts cities, and Zanjan is also known as the world city of carpets, adding: 26 world bases are located in 31 provinces of the country, and the seventh base is Soltanieh Dome in Zanjan, which is one of the healthiest buildings. It is considered the history of the world.

This official continued: Due to the close relationship between handicrafts and the tourism industry, paying attention to the province’s handicrafts field can also be beneficial for attracting tourists to the country and attention should be paid to this area.

He stated that the construction of cable cars in Angoran mine is the main necessity for the development of tourism in the province and stated: Also, the lack of museums has caused us to not perform well in introducing the works registered in the list of national and international works, while we can create three large craft museums in the province. do.

Saying that in the past 6 months, we tried to contribute to the tourism development of the province by holding various events, Safavi pointed out: 2 national events “Iranian Ash National Festival” and “National Handicrafts Exhibition” with the participation of 31 provinces in Mehr this year. It was hosted by the province.

The sustainability of tourists depends on creating the necessary facilities

One of the important tourism hubs of the province is Soltanieh city, which houses many historical monuments, especially the Soltanieh World Dome, and attracts every passerby.

The governor of this city believes that this city has the first rank of tourism in the province, so that in this year’s Nowruz Eid, according to the tickets sold, Soltanieh dome was in the first rank of visits.

Mohammad Reza Barati added: Despite this issue, we have a small share in attracting tourists compared to neighboring provinces such as Qazvin and Hamedan, and compared to other provinces, we are very weak, and as it should be, perhaps the necessary measures to promote tourist attractions and attract more Passengers, especially in Soltanieh, have not been carried out.

He said that one of the important reasons for not attracting tourists is the issue of advertising and said: There are many tourist tours in the capital of the country and travelers go to designated tourist destinations in other parts of the country, but unfortunately, we have not been able to have enough advertisements. To put tourism capacities of the province in the form of banners and advertisements in the eyes of the residents of the capital.

Emphasizing that these measures are not enough to increase the tourism share of Zanjan and that the officials of tourism tours of the province should have more interaction with the tourism tours of other provinces, the governor of Soltanieh continued: Doing these things in turn will lead to the introduction of the unique tourism capacities of the province. and increases the presence of tourists in the province, especially on the occasions of Nowruz and summer.

In order to increase the share of tourism in Zanjan, the tourism tour managers of the province should have more interaction with the tourism tours of other provinces, this official stated that Soltanieh Zanjan has put measures on the agenda to increase the tourism capacity, and stated: With the measures taken, this year also the capacity The tourism of the city has increased, and in the decade of Fajr this year, three eco-tourism complexes were opened in the city, and the number of eco-tourism centers in Soltanieh reached five.

He stated that in order to increase the stay of tourists in this province, especially in the city, the necessary facilities should be provided, and he added: The establishment of ecotourism complexes in this city, especially in the villages, is aimed at making tourists stay longer, and we hope that this will continue to be important. to continue in the city.

Among the other measures taken in order to attract tourists, Brati mentioned the issue of Soltanieh World Dome Citadel and added: Soltanieh Citadel is located next to Soltanieh World Dome, neglected, and with the follow-up of the cultural heritage of the province, a plan is being prepared with the opinion of provincial experts that the citadel Soltanieh should be introduced along with Gonbad.

He added: This means that when a tourist travels to visit the dome, he should spend some time in the citadel for sightseeing, and this action in turn has the necessary effect in attracting tourists, but the important point and the basic practical action, Advertising is enough.

Barati pointed out: Recently, the cultural heritage of Zanjan Province has held meetings with other provinces. Statistically, half of the population of our country is located in the neighboring provinces, and if we can attract and direct a part of them to Soltanieh, we will be able to prosper more and more. The tourism of the city was hopeful.

He stated that recently the council and municipal officials of the northwestern provinces were invited to attend this province and added: We are trying to promote Soltaniyeh more than before by inviting the municipal and municipal officials of these provinces and concluding memorandums of understanding. do.

Emphasizing the role of provincial media in the promotion of tourism attractions of the province, the governor of Soltanieh reminded: Advertising should not only be for the introduction of historical monuments, but the capabilities of cities and prominent villages, such as the historical village of Veer, should be promoted and introduced, which is effective in encouraging tourism.

He pointed out: Nowruz 1402 has coincided with the holy month of Ramadan, and by taking measures, necessary facilities can be provided for Nowruz tourists so that they can be a good contribution to others by traveling to different regions of the province.

Officials do not believe in the important issue of the tourism industry

Tourist guides have a great contribution in attracting their target groups and they try to play a role in this field by using their information and knowledge, which is more important in Zanjan province.

The Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Professional Association of Tourist Guides of Zanjan Province pointed out the reasons for not attracting tourists to this province and said: the lack of adequate visual and auditory information about the historical and natural attractions of the province has caused us to have a smaller share in attracting tourists. It is more evident than other provinces like Yazd.

Sahand Saeedi added: On the other hand, not only the people, but also the officials of this province have not yet come to believe that to what extent tourism is effective in different dimensions, even though the government agencies put forth words or materials regarding tourism, they still do not believe it. do not have

Emphasizing that the implementation of this problem by the officials can have positive effects, he said: for example, the officials of Ardabil province have reached the necessary belief about tourism, and their actions have made people interested in the winter season in addition to the summer season. also travel to this region.

Saidi added: If the people of the province come to believe that tourism has good effects, then we can hope for the development of tourism. Which is a logical and correct statement.

The Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Professional Association of Tourist Guides of Zanjan province, stating that the implementation of this hashtag and sufficient advertising can have the necessary effect, continued: At the present time, due to the expansion of information and the existence of smart phones, the general public with content There are many businesses and every Zanjani can contribute to attracting tourism in the province with their advertisements.

He stated that apart from advertising in the media, the province should be introduced in other cities as well, and said: Fortunately, the tourism promotion of the province is visible in other cities, which will yield results over time and will help the development and prosperity of tourism in Zanjan province. .

Emphasizing that the results of the activities and efforts of the custodians of the tourism sector should be observed in practice to improve the share of the province in this sector, Saeedi added: Unfortunately, the length of stay of tourists in Zanjan province is short and transient, which last year was 12 It was 36 hours during Nowruz Eid this year, however, we are still far from the optimal level and more efforts should be made to maintain this current amount. This year it reached 36 hours and we must maintain this amount.

He stated that this province is very rich in terms of historical and natural attractions, but we are lagging behind in introducing them, and he noted: extensive advertising on social networks and other things should be considered, the important thing is to attract tourists. It takes time and we should not expect this to happen in a short period of time.

Saeedi said: Zanjan has something to say in all aspects of tourism, even religious, village tourism, and the cultures of communities, and they can be exploited optimally, but unfortunately, it has been neglected.