TEHRAN--Minister of Cultural Heritage, Tourism, and Handicrafts Reza Salehi-Amiri announced at the 25th meeting of the Cultural Heritage Ministry’s Strategic Council that the first meeting of tourism ministers from countries that celebrate Nowruz will be held in Tehran.

According to Mehr news agency, the 25th meeting of the Strategic Council of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts was held on Monday in the presence of Salehi-Amiri, Director of Islamic Culture and Relations Organization Mohammad-Mehdi Imanipur, senior managers and specialized experts in the fields of culture and tourism. 

He announced the approval of holding a meeting of tourism ministers of Nowruz countries in Tehran; a rare event that could initiate a new stage in cultural and tourism cooperation in the region. 

Emphasizing that Nowruz is the common heritage of the regional nations and one of the most deeply-rooted human rituals, he stated that Nowruz, with its history of several thousand years and its global registration on the UNESCO Intangible Heritage List, has a unique capacity to introduce Iranian culture and strengthen solidarity among countries that celebrate this ancient festival. 

He said that holding this summit at the governmental level will not only help increase social vitality in the country, but also promote cultural interactions, sustainable tourism, and cooperation in the field of protecting the historical and spiritual assets of the nations that celebrate Nowruz.

Salehi-Amiri considered the main goal of this initiative to transform Nowruz into a reputable global brand, adding that Iran, as the origin and main axis of this ancient ritual, must play its leading role in developing cultural tourism in the region.

He explained that within the framework of this summit, programs such as specialized Nowruz tourism meetings, training workshops, and visits by participating delegations to historical sites related to Nowruz, including Persepolis and Pasargadae, have been designed to present a comprehensive and documented picture of Iran's cultural capacities. 

He said that the country's main focus will be on the Nowruz area so that the flow of cultural tourism can be developed more coherently and the introduction of Iran's attractions in the international space can be carried out with a scientific, systematic and targeted approach. Salehi-Amiri considered using the capacity of prominent cultural figures in the region as one of the complementary axes of this policy and stated that thoughts and experts who are proficient in the common cultural heritage will be invited to strengthen the flow of Iran studies and cultural dialogue in the region.

In another development, Salehi-Amiri said that Iran’s diplomacy for attracting tourists before the 12-day Israeli war against the country and after that is completely different.
He also said: “Our situation before the war was that we went to all the countries in the region, from Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan and Georgia and other countries to Egypt, and we followed this path so that we could attract tourists,” ILNA wrote.

“But during the war, due to Iranophobia and the psychological insecurity that was created, there was a break. We started to rebuild that trust and neutralize Iranophobia for starting again.”

Salehi-Amiri continued: “As I speak to you now, fortunately, our diplomatic situation with our neighbor, Iraq, has taken shape. Currently, Iraqi travelers, whether as pilgrims or tourists, are present throughout Iran. Recently, about 80 people from our private sector, including our agencies, hoteliers and tour operators, were present in Iraq. Last year, almost half of our tourism capacity was related to the Iraq and Persian Gulf states, and we are rebuilding this capacity.”

He emphasized: “In the post-war situation, we should gradually return to the previous conditions within six months. We have predicted three situations and have defined plans for all three situations; one is the continuation of the current situation (no war, no peace) and what we should do, the second is the possibility of instability and how we should act, and in the situation where we return to stable conditions, we have predicted all three situations. In stable conditions, we will experience a 25-percent growth, meaning we will reach the border of 8 to 9.5 million tourists. In the current situation of continuity, our prediction is that we will return to the figure of last Iranian year.” 

Regarding the protection of ancient sites, Salehi-Amiri said: “All historical sites are under the supervision of our bases. The officials of our departments are stationed in the provinces and all of them are monitored.”

Also, Deputy Tourism Minister Ali-Asghar Shalbafian  said that more than 231 projects were identified in the provinces, of which 16 projects have been allowed to receive credit up to 8,000 billion rials ($8 million) from the tax funds of organizations.

He stated that the alignment of policies and programs at the national and provincial levels is one of the serious axes of cooperation.  

Meanwhile, Deputy Cultural Heritage Minister Ali Darabi said that holding online meeting with the provinces, with the presence of benefactors from each province, is one of the planned measures for the restoration of the historical monuments.

Emphasizing the importance of utilizing economic capacities in supporting the protection and restoration of historical monuments and sites, he stated that closer interaction between the two sectors can pave the way for activating the provinces' priority projects.

Referring to the need for more effective protection of the historical monuments, he said that the use of new investment methods can increase productivity in cultural heritage management and pave the way for the sustainable preservation of cultural and historical monuments and sites.

KD