BANDAR ABBAS A senior official at Iran Travel and Tourism Organization (ITTO) said that the country will play host to some 24 provincial festivals on dialogue among civilizations in the current year.

ITTO Director General for International Affairs and Marketing Morteza Tale' told reporters Monday night that the festival on marine-island civilizations which opened in this provincial capital city in southern Iran on Monday night, was the first of the series.

He said other festivals will be held with such themes as religions and dialogue of civilizations, ECO-tourism and tea, tribal cultures and traditions, flora and fauna, historical and natural attractions, tourism and handicrafts, the Silk Road, agriculture and fishery and tourism and pilgrimage.

Tale' further added that in the coming Iranian calendar year (starting March 21) a sum of Rls.100 million will be allocated to each province to be spent on provincial presentations.

In addition, he added, so far seven international conferences have been organized by Iran Travel and Tourism Organization in an effort to further introduce the country's attractions to the outside world.

Cancellation of visa formalities with a number of countries, including Turkmenistan and member states of the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council, are among other steps taken by ITTO.

The current festival in Bandar Abbas will be open for 10 days with the participation of the provinces of Gilan, Mazandaran, Khuzestan, Sistan-Baluchestan, Bushehr and Golestan.

Iran in mid-February hosted a gathering with the participation of political, cultural and scientific figures from across the Asian cradles of civilizations.

Tehran will be the capital of dialogue among civilizations during the current Christian year, where many other similar gatherings, including the main dialogue among global civilizations, the dialogue among African civilizations, the dialogue among Central Asian and Caucasus civilizations and the Latin American civilizations, will be held in 2001.

The United Nations approved designation of the year 2001 as the year of dialogue among civilizations upon an initiative proposed by the Iranian President Mohammad Khatami.

(IRNA)