TEHRAN -- Iran and France have devised plans to boost cooperation in the field of tourism as per an agreement signed between Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicraft Organization and France’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in late January.

The agreement was signed during the recent visit of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to France.

The agreement was the first of its kind in the history of relations between the two countries, Iran’s tourism chief Masoud Soltanifar said in an interview with the ISNA news agency on Monday.

He said that providing French businessmen with investment opportunities was one of the main objectives of the agreement.

“A group of French investors travelled to Iran in mid-October and planned to invest in different fields of tourism after the sanctions were lifted and now the situation is provided,” he said.

France’s AccorHotels, which operates in 94 countries, manages two hotels at the Imam Khomeini International AirPort in Tehran and plans to establish some hotels in different parts of the country, he said.

Holding educational courses in the field of tourism, sharing experiences in the field of hotel management and tour operating were also among objectives of the agreement, Soltanifar noted.

Ski resorts, deserts and mountain resorts are some places in which French investors are eager to invest, he said.

“We aim at establishing two tourism offices in two French cities by the end of 2016,” Soltanifar said.

Iran and France also plan for holding some joint exhibitions in museums and cultural institutes of the two countries in the future, he added.

PHOTO: A view of the Ibis hotel at Imam Khomeini international airport in Tehran (Atta Kenare/Getty Images)

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