TEHRAN – Tehran province’s tourism department is set to put digital marketing on the spotlight during the World Tourism Day (WTD), which is annually marked on September 27.

“The department is scheduled to honor a select of top experts and directors of tourism startups.” ISNA quoted Delavar Bozorgnia, the provincial tourism chief, as saying on Sunday.

It will also hold an educational workshop titled “Digital Marketing in Tourism Businesses”, the official stated, adding that the lineup is oriented towards this year’s WTD theme; “Tourism and the Digital Transformation.”

The department of the Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization has arranged some special sightseeing tours across the Iranian capital as well.

Like previous years, all CHHTO-affiliated museums and historical sites will allow free entry on September 27.

Embracing the lower slopes of the towering, snowcapped Alborz mountain range, Tehran has many to offer its visitors such as the UNESCO-registered Golestan Palace, a historic grand bazaar, Treasury of National Jewels, National Museum of Iran, Glass & Ceramic Museum, Masoudieh Palace, Sarkis Cathedral, Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Carpet Museum of Iran, just to name a few. 

The UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) says the 2018 WTD presents an opportunity to raise awareness on the potential contribution of digital technologies to sustainable tourism development.

“A digitally-advanced tourism sector can improve entrepreneurship, inclusion, local community empowerment and efficient resource management, amongst other important development objectives,” the UN body says.

The UNWTO expects tourism to grow an average of 3% annually until 2030, saying, “Over the past six decades, tourism has experienced continued expansion and diversification, and it has become one of the fastest growing and most important economic sectors in the world, benefiting destinations and communities worldwide.”

International tourist arrivals worldwide have grown from 25 million in 1950 to nearly 1.3 billion today Similarly, international tourism revenues earned by destinations around the world have grown from two billion U.S. dollars in 1950 to 1,260 trillion in 2015. The sector represents an estimated 10% of the world’s GDP and 1 in 10 jobs globally, data compiled by the UNWTO suggests.

In this regard, Iran is following extensive plans to bolster its tourism sector. Under the 2025 Tourism Vision Plan, the country is expecting to increase the number of tourism arrivals from 4.8 million in 2014 to 20 million.

CHHTO Director Ali-Asghar Mounesan announced earlier this month that the number of international tourists visiting the country surged 45 percent in the first five months of the current Iranian calendar year (started on March 21) from a year earlier.

AFM/MQ/MG