TEHRAN - Guests of the World Federation of Tourist Guide Associations (WFTGA) Convention will have a great time in Iran, President of Iran Federation of Tourist Guide Associations Arash Nuraghayee told the Tehran Times in an interview on September 6.

The next WFTGA Convention, a biannual gathering of all tourist guides from more than 70 countries, will be held in Iran in 2017. This is the first time that Iran has bid to host the convention.

About 300 to 500 tourist guides from 70 countries will be attending the event, he said.

Nuraghayee also explained about the selected theme for this edition of the convection, which will be “Iran; Friendly Faces, Open Arms, Ancient Cultures, Timeless Charms”.

In the light of the convention, Iran is getting ready to develop infrastructure to boost tourism industry in the country, the official said.

“We have organized three campaigns by now to solve some present problems tourists face in Iran,” he said.

The campaigns are on convention, “One Million Green Lights” and clean washrooms.

Initiated by Alireza Nokhostin, “One Million Green Lights” is one of programs geared toward helping understand Iran and fight prejudice against Iran or “Iranophobia”, he explained.

The program calls for each foreign tourist to light a green light prior to leaving Iran at the airport as a symbol of their approval of security condition in Iran for tourists.


When the name of a country is drawn as the host of the next event, there may be hesitancy from some various countries, however, regular inspections of Iran by some members of WFTGA will put their mind at ease, he said.

He then went on to say that WFTGA President Felicitas Wressnig and Vice President Ruby Royand will visit Iran before the convention for several times.

Each convention is an assembly of tour guides from all over the world that come together to hold workshops and training sessions, strengthen interpersonal connections, and above all, spread international messages of peace and unity.
Nuraghayee added that a group of 200 volunteers who are active in tourism affairs are organizing the preliminaries of the conventions.

Launching advertisement strategy, facilitating visa issuance and insurance are amongst the activities, which are conducted for arranging the event, he added.

“We are publishing a book on the concept of hospitality amongst Iranians in Persian and English as well,” Nuraghayee noted.

He also said that the association is preparing some information on Iran’s record-breaking tourist attractions and historical sites.

He then urged Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicraft Organization to support the convention, as a great event in tourism industry.

Using social networks are one of the ways for organizers to inform the attendees about Iran and the programs of convention, he added.

Iranians are hospitable and gentle nation, the right ingredients for being a good host, he added.

Having Iran to host the event was a collective effort that took over five months, he said, adding that a group of eight tourist guides and tens of others worked together dedicatedly to prepare the bid documents for the association.

The World Federation of Tourist Guide Associations is a non-profit making professional organization dedicated to the promotion of high standards of training and ethics within the profession.

The association aims to establish contact with Tourist Guide Associations throughout the world, to reinforce their professional ties and to promote and protect the interests of professional tourist guides; to represent professional Tourist Guide Associations internationally and to work for the improvement of the quality and reputation of the profession of Tourist Guides worldwide.

PHOTO: Arash Nuraghayee poses in front of Iran's Damavand Mountain in an undated photo

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