TEHRAN – Pamenar Village in Iran’s southwestern Khuzestan province has emerged as an example of how rural tourism can help reverse migration, create jobs and strengthen local participation, with young residents and women playing a central role in the village’s development, a tourism official said the Tehran Times on Monday.

Mehdi Baharvand, head of the office for tourism attractions and products development at Iran’s Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts, underlined that migration from villages to larger cities has been one of the main challenges facing rural communities in recent years.

He said the trend has been driven by a lack of sustainable employment opportunities, economic limitations, insufficient public services and the pursuit of higher education. In some cases, he added, migration has led to the gradual depopulation of villages and reduced incentives for young people to return after completing their studies.

Despite these challenges, Baharvand said the experience of several villages across the country has shown that tourism can serve as a driver of rural revitalization, employment generation and the return of former residents.

Among these examples, he identified Pamenar Village as a case demonstrating how tourism can contribute to local development through community participation and the use of local resources.

“Pamenar today is not only a tourism village but also a symbol of reconnecting with local roots and restoring human capital in rural areas,” Baharvand said.

According to him, one of the village’s distinguishing features is the return of a number of educated young people who have chosen to settle in their hometown and become involved in tourism-related activities.

He said the experience demonstrates that migration is not necessarily a permanent and irreversible process and that appropriate planning can encourage younger generations to remain in or return to rural communities.

Baharvand said women and girls in Pamenar have become active participants in the village’s cultural, social and economic development and play a direct role in tourism activities.

Unlike some development models where women remain on the margins of economic activity, he said, women in Pamenar are considered among the main contributors to the local tourism sector.

He noted that women are involved in producing local foods, baking traditional bread, preparing indigenous products and creating handicrafts. These activities have enabled part of the tourism value chain to remain within the village and generate income for local households.

“The presence of women is visible and influential throughout the tourism economy of the village,” Baharvand said.

He added that tourism development in Pamenar is not limited to a small number of activities and involves broad participation from different segments of the local community.

Alongside women, young people and men in the village are active in a range of tourism-related services, including accommodation, transportation, boating, guiding visitors, content production, camping activities and the promotion of the area’s attractions.

According to Baharvand, this diversity of activities has transformed tourism from a source of income into a platform for social and economic cooperation among residents.

He said the coordinated participation of women, girls, young people and men has helped establish Pamenar as an example of community-based tourism development.

One of the main lessons from the village’s experience, Baharvand said, is that tourism development becomes more sustainable and effective when local residents are directly involved in both planning and benefiting from tourism activities.

“Where local communities, particularly women and young people, play a direct role in benefiting from tourism, motivation to preserve the village, develop small businesses and prevent migration also increases,” he said.

According to him, the village’s experience also illustrates how tourism can support reverse migration by creating economic opportunities and improving local livelihoods.”Pamenar today is not merely a tourism destination but a successful experience linking local heritage, the rural economy and social capital,” Baharvand said.

He said similar approaches could be adopted in other rural areas seeking to address population decline and create sustainable economic opportunities.

“If we want to create a sustainable future for villages, we should look at models such as Pamenar, where women, girls, young people and men all share responsibility for building a better future,” he said.

Baharvand underlined the village’s experience shows that rural tourism, when supported by planning and meaningful community participation, can become an effective tool for balanced development, job creation and preventing the gradual abandonment of rural settlements.

AM