TEHRAN - Kazakhstan sees Iran’s Golestan province as a potential tourism destination, its consul general in Gorgan said during talks with provincial tourism officials on Wednesday aimed at expanding cooperation between the two sides.

Yerbol Akhmedov, Consul General of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Gorgan, met Yaser Ghandehari, deputy head of tourism at Golestan’s Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Department, to discuss ways to increase tourist exchanges and develop joint travel packages.

Akhmedov said Kazakhstan was ready to hold joint programs for tourism and business operators from Golestan in Kazakhstan and called for specialized meetings between travel agencies, tourism facility operators, health tourism providers and universities from both countries.

“Joint meetings between travel agencies, tourism facility operators, health tourism providers and universities from Iran and Kazakhstan can pave the way for effective and sustainable cooperation in tourism,”Akhmedov said.

He said direct contacts between Kazakh tourism companies and tourism operators in Golestan could help design joint tours and increase visitor flows between the two countries.

Akhmedov added that for residents of some regions of Kazakhstan, traveling to Iran could be more affordable in terms of time and transportation costs than traveling to certain domestic destinations within Kazakhstan, creating opportunities for tourism development, particularly in the health tourism sector.

Zahra Armand, a Kazakhstan-based tourism operator who attended the meeting, said cultural ties between Iran and Kazakhstan offered significant potential for expanding tourism relations.

“Many Kazakh citizens already travel to Iran, especially to Golestan province, for medical treatment, but most of these trips are arranged through relatives and acquaintances,” Armand said.

“This capacity should be developed in a targeted, planned and professional manner through cooperation between tourism operators in both countries.”

Golestan province, whose capital is Gorgan, borders the Iranian provinces of Semnan, Mazandaran and North Khorasan, and also shares an international border with Turkmenistan.

AM