TEHRAN – Iran’s Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism, and Handicrafts has developed an action plan in order to get the country’s tourism sector back on track as it has suffered losses in the wake of recent political tensions in the region.

Inbound tours started to severely drop following a Ukrainian plane, with 176 people aboard, was mistakenly downed on January 8 by the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) air defense system. The tragic crash was happened a few hours after Iran fired dozens of missiles at the U.S. airbase inside Iraq in retaliation to the assassination of Iranian Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad on January 3.

Tourism Minister Ali-Asghar Mounesan said earlier this month that the country’s tourism sector has suffered a major setback but it will certainly return to “normal”.

On Thursday, Mounesan said that the action plan will start on Saturday (January 25), aiming to increase and improve [international] interactions for introducing Iran and clarifying its safety conditions to the target countries, CHTN reported.

Referring to the plan, Mounesan said, “We have discussed with the foreign minister the need for our embassies to be more dynamic. Moreover, cooperation with foreign ambassadors [in Tehran] is to be enhanced and strengthened through holding meetings with them.”

Inviting [foreign influencers and] celebrities to travel to Iran is one of other pillars of the plan in order to convey the message that the country is well safe, he explained.

“By the means of photos, videos and comments they post on their social networks, these people convey the message to the world that they are safe and there is no problem for foreign tourists to travel to Iran.”

Mounesan also pointed to holding international tourism fairs and exhibits that Iran is scheduled to take part, saying, “We have several international fairs ahead. At these exhibitions, we should introduce Iran well to tourists and clarify the country’s safe conditions.”

Some 6.7 million foreign nationals have visited Iran during the first nine months of the current Iranian calendar year, according to data announced by Foreign Ministry’s visa and passport department. Iran welcomed some 7.8 million foreign nationals last year, achieving a 52.5 percent increase year on year.

The ancient land embraces hundreds of historical sites such as bazaars, museums, mosques, bridges, bathhouses, madrasas, mausoleums, churches, towers, and mansions, of which 22 being inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list. Under the 2025 Tourism Vision Plan, the country aims to increase the number of tourist arrivals from 4.8 million in 2014 to 20 million in 2025.

AFM/MG