TEHRAN – The director of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicraft Organization of Iran, Masoud Soltanifar, and the Turkish minister of culture and tourism, Mahir Unal, held a meeting in Tehran on Thursday, voicing determination to expand ties in the field of tourism.

TEHRAN – The director of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicraft Organization of Iran, Masoud Soltanifar, and the Turkish minister of culture and tourism, Mahir Unal, held a meeting in Tehran on Thursday, voicing determination to expand ties in the field of tourism.

“The two counties are determined to boost tourism cooperation, to benefit from mutual capacities, and to share experiences,” Soltanifar said.

During the meeting, which was held at Tehran’s Laleh Hotel, the two sides stressed the need for private sector to invest in the field of tourism in the two countries.

“Iran and Turkey aim to make a balance between Iranian and Turkish tourists. For the time being, the number of Iranians who travel to Turkey exceeds that of Turkish tourists who visit Iran,” Soltanifar said.

Soltanifar pointed to organizing some combination tours for Chinese, Indonesian and Indian tourists to visit historical and cultural attractions of Iran and Turkey in the near future.

Iran’s safety is one of the most important advantages of the county in the region, which paves the way for providing tourism infrastructures, Soltanifar said.

Unal, for his part, said Iran and Turkey has great potentials in the field of tourism, which may lead to more success in the future through mutual cooperation.

“Iran and Turkey aim to make a balance between Iranian and Turkish tourists. For the time being, the number of Iranians who travel to Turkey exceeds that of Turkish tourists who visit Iran,” Soltanifar said.

“Charter flights, in addition to scheduled flights, are one of the main factors that have a direct impact on seasonal tourist numbers. In this regard, it is one of our priorities to increase both the number of chartered flights as well as their destinations,” the Turkish official added.

“Several Turkish investors are accompanying me to Tehran to explore opportunities for building hotels and other infrastructures in the country,” he said.

Unal and Soltanifar later attended a joint technical committee meeting, after which they signed a memorandum of understanding towards promoting cooperation in the field of tourism.

The document contains agreements on informing Turkish investors of opportunities in Iran, sharing experience in the areas of tourism planning, promoting, training, and classifying. It also aims to encourage mutual visits by nationals of both countries.

Iran-Turkey technical tourism committee

Meanwhile, a number of Iranian and Turkish tourism activists participated in a technical tourism committee meeting on Thursday.

The CHTHO deputy director for tourism affairs, Morteza Rahmani-Movahhed, was amongst the participants.

During the meeting Iran pledged to provide some investment packages for Turkish tourism industry in the near future.

The Turkish part also committed to encourage travel agencies to plan some tours to Iran.

Turkey will also hold some educational workshops for Iranian tour guides in the field of tour planning and marketing in the near future.