TEHRAN – Iran is prepared to put into practice key national tourism strategies it has co-developed in close collaboration with the International Trade Centre.

Iran is ready to reimplement new strategies that it has developed jointly with the help of the International Trade Centre in the realms of social, historical, cultural, health, and wildlife tourism,  ILNA quoted a tourism official as saying on Sunday.

In that regard, Marie-Claude Frauenrath, the ITC senior trade promotion officer, has been appointed to lead the project as its administration manager, Zahed Shafiei added.

Experts from Iran and International Trade Centre launched the joint project in 2019 as a top priority for the development of exports.

Enhancing competitiveness [as an export sector], building value-addition, and developing new markets and ways to maximize local economic are amongst goals the project is to achieve with the close collaboration with the private investors and local communities, according to Iran’s Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts.

Experts say that an effective National Tourism Export Strategy (NTES) enables policy-makers, tourism and investment support institutions, and enterprises to make choices on key decision points and priorities. This, in turn, ensures that countries can optimize conditions for long-term tourism sustainability, and enhanced economic and social benefits.

Experts believe that tourism is trade. It involves the buying and selling of services and goods, with compensation paid by a buyer (the visitor) to a seller. Tourism is a source of foreign exchange earnings. It boosts the country’s domestic output.

Since the UNWTO General Assembly in Colombia in September 2015, ITC and UNWTO have entered a formal strategic partnership to build upon the two organizations’ resources and competencies and to share perspectives in the process of rethinking a joint approach to Aid for Trade (AfT) in tourism.

The partnership also aims at having a more integrated and innovative approach to tourism development for inclusive growth, leading to the achievement of all dimensions of sustainable development for developed countries.

Established in 1964, the International Trade Centre is the joint agency of the World Trade Organization and the United Nations. It is a development agency that is fully dedicated to supporting the internationalization of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The Islamic Republic considers reaping a bonanza from its numerous tourist spots such as bazaars, museums, mosques, bridges, bathhouses, madrasas, mausoleums, churches, towers, and mansions, of which 26 are inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list. Under the 2025 Tourism Vision Plan, Iran aims to increase the number of tourist arrivals from 4.8 million in 2014 to 20 million in 2025.

AFM