TEHRAN – Iran is among the 15 tourist markets that Qatar focuses on for its tourism industry, Berthold Trenkel the COO of Qatar Tourism, has said.

In a press release published by Qatar’s pavilion at Tehran’s international tourism and handicrafts fair on Wednesday, Trenkel said that as part of Qatar’s tourism strategy, Iran is one of the target markets.

The goal of Qatar’s participation at the fair is to make Iranian visitors choose Qatar as their vacation and leisure destination, he added.

Qatar will be able to better introduce itself to Iranians through its participation in the 16th Tehran International Tourism Exhibition, he noted.

“By offering attractive travel packages, we provided new information to our colleagues in Iran’s travel industry,” he mentioned.

By 2030, Qatar’s tourism development strategy aims to increase tourist attraction by three-fold and the tourism sector’s share of the country’s GDP by 12 percent, he stated.

Tehran’s international tourism fair, which was inaugurated on Tuesday, brings together 200 exhibitors from 47 countries involved in the tourism industry.

Foreign participants will attend the exhibition as exhibitors and visitors, and a private-sector negotiation hall has been set up for them.

A number of countries have pavilions at the exhibition, including Qatar, Iraq, Japan, Indonesia, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Russia, and Venezuela.

The exhibition is also attended by countries such as Oman, Syria, Turkey, Armenia, Lebanon, Libya, Algeria, China, and Georgia, among others.

A total of 67,000 square meters has been devoted to the exhibition, which is running in 15 vast halls.

Over 70 licensed health tourism centers are also present at the exhibition.

It is a benchmark event in the tourism sector of the country as a meeting place for industry professionals and the premier trade show for destinations and destination markets. It turns the spotlight on new tourist segments, technological leadership in the management of tourism, and knowledge transfer tools.

It stages cultural evenings, B2B meetings, folk music performances, live workshops, 3D films of historical monuments and tourism destinations, and highlights of Persian cuisines, to name a few.

The handicrafts sales exhibition brings together craftspeople and artisans from all over the country, showcasing arrays of personal ornamentation, woodwork, illuminated manuscript, miniature, textile printing, enamel, leatherwork, handwoven textile, calligraphy, traditional musical instrument, metalwork, and marquetry to name a few. Nomadic culinary arts, live workshops, and performances are among other themes for the event.

The 36th National Handicrafts Exhibition and the 16th Tehran International Tourism Exhibition, which are held simultaneously, will be running until February 10.

ABU/AM