TEHRAN -- A group of Iranian peace and friendship messengers are scheduled to start their world tour next spring to introduce the culture, tourist attractions, and cultural heritage of their homeland to 131 countries, Iran’s Touring and Automobile Club announced here on Saturday.

Financed by the club, the emissaries will set off the coastal regions of the Persian Gulf and make a stopover in Mashhad in Khorasan Razavi Province after leaving behind the southern and central cities. Later, they will proceed to the littoral territories of the Caspian Sea and the Aras region in northeastern Iran to cross the border.

The group, whose slogan is “Start Your World Tour in Iran”, is intended to encourage the peoples of the five continents to pay a visit to the Asian country.

They will stay in each continent between 30 and 150 days, depending on its vastness.

The travelers are to distribute 1,000 multimedia CDs containing information on Iran’s travel agencies, tours, hotels, restaurants, handicrafts, souvenirs, ethnic traditions, cultural heritage, and historical regions among the tourism officials on other countries during an approximate 600-day journey.

The organizers also plan to display other states’ cultural products and artifacts at exhibitions to be set up after the project which is also to be supported by some national banks and automakers as well as domestic and foreign insurance companies.