TEHRAN – Concurrent with the start of Tourism Week, 400 festivals and special events focusing on tourism and sustainable development will be held across Iran from September 27 to October 3, Mostafa Fatemi, director-general of the Domestic Tourism Development Office, said.

Speaking at a press conference regarding Tourism Week on Sunday, he said that the World Tourism Organization proposes a specific slogan every year, and this year it has chosen ‘Tourism and Sustainable Development’ as the slogan, and all programs will focus on it, IRNA reported.

He stated that each day of Tourism Week is named after a title, adding: “The first day of Tourism Week, September 27, is named ‘Tourism and Sustainable Development’, and various programs will be held in the provinces and embassies, and on this day, a green badge will be awarded to exemplary hoteliers during a ceremony.”

The second day, September 28, is named ‘Sustainable Tourism, Education and Sustainable Development’, and in addition to holding various programs, educational workshops will also be held on sustainable tourism, he said. 

The third day, September 29, is named ‘Tourism and Family’, he pointed out, adding that programs and gatherings regarding social sustainability, women and family participation, and specialized training course have been considered for women and managers of accommodation centers and tourism facilities.

He continued that the fourth day, September 30, has been designated as ‘Tourism and Economic Sustainability’, when tourism projects will be inaugurated simultaneously.

During the fifth day, October 1, themed ‘Tourism, Local Society, and Environment’, tourist tours will be held in Tehran and counties and the meetings will be held on Abbas Abad lands in Tehran, he added.

Fatemi mentioned that events with focus on local customs will be held during the sixth day, October 2, themed ‘Tourism and Culture’ .

He pointed that the National Festival of International Tourism Content of Iran will be held during the seventh day, October 3, themed ‘International Tourism and Digital Development’ in cooperation with the Chamber of Commerce and a specialized meeting of electronic tourism, a meeting with the heads of the Association of Friendship of Countries, and the implementation of city tours and public visits to museums and historical monuments will be held.

Fatemi stressed: “The events play key role in tourism promotion and we need to hold the events.”

He said that people used to travel only to certain districts of the country and hotels in some provinces, such as Semnan and Kerman, were empty, but currently, hotels in these provinces are also full. This change in approach is due to holding events and showing elegance in different provinces, he added.

“We prepared a package for cheap travel that was not approved by the government, but we have considered another plan in form of a platform with discounts from travel agencies, which we hope will be approved by the government.”

KD