TEHRAN-- Deputy Tourism Minister Anoushirvan Mohseni-Bandpei described the use of new, creative techniques, artificial intelligence, and digital technologies in advertising and content production as a very important issue.

Speaking at the unveiling ceremony of the poster for the International Tourism Content Production Festival in Iran on Sunday, he considered it essential to understand the country's tourism potential, Mehr news agency reported.

He also said that content production is the most key tool for success in attracting foreign tourists.

Mohseni-Bandpei stated that the country's tourism capacities should be introduced in the international space in a timely manner and with the necessary quality.

Referring to the Ministry of Tourism's limited budget for advertising and introducing Iran, he stated that a scientific look at the capacities shows that more budget should be spent to attract foreign tourists, and spending on advertising is considered an investment. Producing high-quality content is the most key tool for success in attracting tourists, and whoever can present their product better and more favorably will gain more customers, he added.

Referring to the President's tweet about the global registration of the three villages of Soheili in Qeshm, Shafiabad in Kerman, and Kandelous in Mazandaran in the World Tourism Organization's list of global villages, he stated: “This international success is a source of pride and honor for the country, and as the President also mentioned, Iran is a land of art and bravery, and this nation has embraced great honor.”

He praised those involved in organizing the 2014 Iran International Tourism Content Production Festival, calling it a blessed event, and continued: "Holding such events should increase so that we can introduce the magnificent rainbow of Iran to the world with appropriate imagery.”

Also, Moslem Shojaei, the Tourism Ministry’s director-general for marketing and foreign tourism development, expressed satisfaction at cooperation between state and private sectors in holding the content production festival. 

He said that the use of people's capacities in producing tourism content has been neglected, and most of the content produced in the field of tourism is produced commercially, and tourism activists, including hoteliers and heads of travel agencies produce and offer their tourism content with this perspective.

Shojaei emphasized the use of a scientific perspective to produce international content, adding that cooperation with Islamic Azad University of Yazd, due to scientific sensitivities, could be a suitable step to begin this process.

He considered the use of public capacities to be a very important issue and stated: “We must be able to publish content produced by the public on international social networks by cooperating with different sectors.”

Vice President of Islamic Azad University of Yazd for Research Affairs Mohammad-Mahdi Kariminejad, as another speaker at the ceremony, said that cooperation between the Azad University and Yazd Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Department, along with institutions such as Yazd Municipality, the Chamber of Commerce and Industrial Townships Company of Yazd Province, led to the launch of this festival.

He announced the launch of a tourism faculty in this province, adding: “Given the capacities of Yazd province in the field of tourism and the cooperation of related institutions and the private sector, this trend will continue and we will soon witness the development of this faculty in postgraduate education.”

KD