TEHRAN – Thirteen tour guides are pedaling from the Caspian Sea to the Persian Gulf to promote Iran’s hosting of the World Federation of Tourist Guide Associations (WFTGA) Convention in 2017.

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 bids to host the convention.

The cyclists began their tour, entitled “From Noshahr to Bushehr”, from the northern port of Noshahr neighboring the Caspian Sea. The final spot of the tour will be the southern port of Bushehr neighboring the Persian Gulf.

The itinerary of the 1400-km tour includes the cities of Noshahr, Tehran, Qom, Kashan, Isfahan, Shiraz, and Bushehr, the programmer Mehdi Mostafalou told the Persian service of IRNA.

The cyclists, who wear shirts adorn with the logo of the WFTGA Convention, will promote the event through their journey.

“Hosting of the convention provides a good opportunity to build necessary infrastructures for tourism in Iran,” President of the Iran Federation of Tourist Guide Associations, Arash Nooraghayee, said.

Iran faces a water crisis, which makes some difficulties in the field of agriculture and industries, he said, adding that tourism can be a solution to the problem.

“Our guests to the convention can be great promoters for Iranian attractions,” he added.

About 300 to 500 tour guides from 70 countries will be attending the Convention.

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

WFTGA is a non-profit making professional organization dedicated to the promotion of high standards of training and ethics within the profession.

PHOTO: A group of cyclists pose for a photo in front of Imam Asgari Mosque in Qom


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