TEHRAN -- Iran will establish ten more tourism information offices in other countries, the Touring & Automobile Club of Iran director told Persian service of ISNA.

According to Abedreza Eslami, Iran will establish 20 offices by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (ends March 19, 2016) besides the existing tourism information offices already operating overseas.

In late April, the director of Iran’s Cultural Heritage Tourism and Handicrafts Organization (CHTHO) Masud Soltanifar announced that Iran will establish ten more tourism information offices in other countries.

Iran has already set up tourism offices in Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Malaysia, Singapore, China, and Oman, Soltanifar announced.

“Many Iranians abroad demand establishment of offices to promote Iran’s tourism. However we have some conditions for establishment of offices considered by Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicraft Organization,” Eslami added.

The organization has already studied the target markets in other countries for establishment of offices, Eslami said.

“Regarding international relations, the offices can provide more information for us to have better tourism policies.”

According to Eslami, the club is holding a series of meetings for managers of the tourism information offices abroad.

Previously Soltanifar had said that Iran is seeking to increase revenues from foreign tourists visiting Iran. “We should go in a direction so that in the next three to five years, the incoming tourists outnumber outgoing tourists.”

The offices aim to provide information and distribute items relevant to tourism for tourist centers in the target country. They also publish reports and advertisements in media outlets to attract tourists to Iran.

Holding exhibitions to promote tourism and offering different kinds of travel packages for foreigners are amongst other services provided by the offices.

Iran has already selected 44 countries as target destinations for establishing tourism offices.

Regarding the decrease in inflation rate in Iran, the country is a low-priced destination for foreign tourists.

According to Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2015 conducted by the World Economic Forum (WEF), Iran is the most affordable country for tourists amongst the 141 countries.

Egypt appeared on the second rank and the next country is Indonesia. Price Competitiveness in the Tourism and Travel Industry is the lower costs related to travel in a country increase its attractiveness for many travelers as well as for investing in the T&T sector.

Iran made it onto the top destination lists of major publications such as The Financial Times and The Guardian last year thanks to sights that include 2,500-year old ruins at Persepolis near Shiraz and 16th-century Islamic architectural gems in Isfahan.

Iran is home to some of the world’s most magnificent historical and archaeological sites. Relics of a proud ancient civilization include: Persepolis, the capital of the largest empire that the world has ever seen; the city of Isfahan; Shiraz, the city of love and poetry; and Hamadan, where Avicenna, the father of early modern medicine, is buried.
UNESCO has declared 16 world heritage sites in Iran, which was historically referred to as Persia in the West until the 20th century