TEHRAN — Seyyed Reza Salehi-Amiri, Iran’s Minister of Cultural Heritage, Tourism, and Handicrafts, on Sunday stated that Iran is currently focusing on attracting tourists primarily from nearby countries.

He highlighted 13 countries that celebrate Nowruz, including Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, and Turkey, as key target markets. Additionally, Iran is prioritizing outreach to the Persian Gulf littoral states, with particular emphasis on Iraq, Kuwait, and Bahrain.

Speaking in a meeting with head of Islamic Culture and Communication Organization and cultural consultants, he said: “Before the start of 12-day Israeli war against Iran, our goal was to attract 15 million tourists by the end of the Seventh National Development Plan.”

He also said that the most important need of Iran’s current society is to create hope. “After the recent 12-day war, our most important task is to create public pride, social vitality, and strengthen attachment to Iran, the system, the revolution, and Iranian society.”

Salehi-Amiri said: “Currently, Central Asia, Caucasus, and Nowruz region are our major tourism basket.” 

Pointing to the regional cooperation, he said that Uzbekistan has welcomed cooperation and the paths have been paved. 

Georgia is also cooperating three times more than before, he said, adding: “The Nowruz region, which includes countries such as Turkey, Pakistan and Afghanistan, is of particular importance. Afghanistan has great potential that we should not neglect.”

He said: “Pakistan has a deep cultural commonality with Iran, and it is necessary to review and strengthen cultural cooperation with this country. Also, with restoration of political relations with Egypt, a suitable platform has been provided for the expansion of cultural and tourism cooperation. In addition, Indonesia and Malaysia are also interested in developing religious tourism with Iran, and it is expected that tourism interactions with these countries will increase in the near future.”

On importance of tourism markets of East Asia and North of Eurasia, he said that Iran’s share of Chinese tourists is meager compared to the neighboring nations. “We should increase this share by setting precise goals and focusing on China. Also, planning to establish travel service offices in this country is on the agenda. Russia is also an important target destination in the field of Iranian tourism, and considering the country's natural capacities, including desert tourism, tourism cooperation with this country can be expanded.”

He continued: “Social asset is our today’s vital need. Because, the driving force of society is social trust, satisfaction, and people's participation.”

Pointing to the role of social asset during the Sacred Defense, he said: “Our social asset increased during the war. Today, preserving it is more important than producing it.

Satisfaction is linked to the concept of efficiency, and efficiency is the most basic and urgent need of society for hope for the future.” 

Recalling the historical experience of the government during the 12-day war, he said that during the war, the government distributed more than one million tons of basic goods in the country, which is one and a half times the normal conditions, so that people would not worry about the supply of goods, and this was the same approach of efficiency. 

The minister considered the next important point to be national cohesion and stated that cohesion does not mean apparent unity, but rather that all the country's capacities, including cultural ones, should come together for a common goal, which is the survival of Iran. 

Salehi-Amiri continued: “In the past year, our focus has been on strengthening the attachment and dependence of the young generation on the concept of Iran and cultural Iran. We are also obliged to connect the Iranian community abroad with the country. The population of Iranians abroad is between 7 and 9 million people, and the Supreme Council of Iranians was formed with the mission of various agencies for this purpose.”

Emphasizing that cohesion is the factor of political life, he said: “Today, we are facing a set of enemies in the political, media, and military arenas. Therefore, we must focus on strengthening attachment of overseas Iranians to the homeland.” 

He added: “The more the Iranian community abroad can breathe in Iran’s cultural atmosphere and remain connected to Iran, the more capital and expertise will be attracted to the country. The government has decided not to hinder this connection.”

The minister announced the formation of four specialized working groups in the fields of tourism, education and technology, legal and consular, and economic and attracting capitals of Iranians, adding, “If Iranians feel secure, the attraction and return of capital will be unparalleled.”

Referring to the 30-percent growth in tourists in April and May of this year, he stated that if the stability continues, the number of tourists is expected to exceed 8 million by the end of the year.

"Three scenarios have been developed for the current situation, stability, and crisis conditions, and we have considered specific plans for each. Also, the country's five-year tourism plan has been developed in a format of 2,000 pages and with a national, provincial, and county approach and presented to the head of the Islamic Culture and Communication Organization.”

He considered attracting the capital as an important priority and said: “We have received five major incentives from the government, which are unprecedented: an 80 percent exemption from municipal fees, zeroing the fees for change of use, issuing licenses for mixed-use complexes, and importing 200 items needed by hotels with zero customs and fees.”

In another part of his speech, Salehi-Amiri emphasized the need to rebuild Iran's image and said: “The three main components of attracting tourists are: attractiveness, security, and infrastructure. 85 percent of tourists who came to Iran returned with a positive image of Iran.”

Referring to the importance of advertising, he said: “The extensive production of trilingual content has begun and will be made available to the cultural consultants. We must use all capacities and cross the common lines so that we all work in a single circle for Iran.”

Salehi-Amiri concluded by saying: “The Ministry of Cultural Heritage will support any program that is held in the target countries in the field of tourism and interaction with Iranians living there. If part of the capacity of the Islamic Culture and Communication Organization is increased in this direction, we will witness positive developments in Iranian tourism.”

KD