TEHRAN – Tourism Group of the Social Security Organization (HEGTA) and the Iranian Tour Operators Association have agreed to expand cooperation in domestic and international tourism markets, develop new tourism products and make greater use of HEGTA’s accommodation and rail transport capacities.

The agreement was reached on Tuesday when the two sides also agreed to establish a joint working group to identify target markets and develop pilot tourism products.

Key areas of cooperation include developing combined train, accommodation and tourism packages, developing  the existing tourism health-care chain, examining markets in Central Asian countries, jointly participating in domestic and international roadshows, designing short-term practical training courses and assessing opportunities to expand accommodation facilities in line with market demand.

Akbar Ghamkhar, chairman of the Iran Tour Operators Association, said the tourism market offered several areas for cooperation with HEGTA, including pent-up demand for travel in the post-war period, health and pilgrimage tourism, rail tourism, Central Asian markets, and leisure travel programs for government employees and retirees.

He also emphasized the use of HEGTA’s accommodation and rail networks to develop new travel packages.

Ghamkhar said closer links among different players in the health tourism chain, combined with the capabilities of professional tour operators, could help expand inbound tourism.

Referring to the success of 37 members of the association in receiving export awards last year, he described the achievement as an opportunity to expand international tourism markets. He also called for joint participation in roadshows, specialized practical training programs and the provision of accommodation incentives.

Alireza Tabesh, HEGTA’s chief executive, for his part, welcomed the proposals and said the Iran Tour Operators Association had considerable experience and knowledge of tourism markets that could be used to develop the holding’s international markets.

He pointed to the capacities of HEGTA and its subsidiaries in accommodation, rail transportation, tourism, training and investment, stressing the need for practical and economically viable cooperation between the two organizations.

“HEGTA has considerable capacities, while the Tour Operators Association understands the market and has experience in marketing and selling tourism products,” Tabesh said. “If these two capacities are brought together, new products can be designed and offered to the market.”

The meeting concluded with an agreement to establish a joint working group aimed to examine target markets and design at least three joint tourism products on a pilot basis, preparing them for implementation and sale.

AM