TEHRAN – Two agritourism farms have been inaugurated in the city of Malayer, west-central Hamedan province, Malayer’s tourism chief has announced. 

The farms, which have been set up by the private sector, are aimed to promote tourism in the region and create jobs for the locals, Ebrahim Jalili said on Wednesday. 

TO build agritourism farms, farmers use light and oriented structures for growing crops without altering the farm areas, the official explained. 

Since the grapes and raisins of Malayer are worldwide famous, most of the activities such farms focus on the production of grapes and raisins, and tourists are welcome to spend a few hours in such orchards and learn about the farming customs and methods, he added. 

A relatively new branch of tourism

Agritourism is a relatively new branch of the travel industry in which tourists stay with local people in rural areas. Farm/ranch recreation refers to activities conducted on private agricultural lands, which might include fee-hunting and fishing, overnight stays, educational activities, etc.

Experts believe that in addition to the customer services jobs, agritourism pays special attention to the production sector, saying agricultural tourism is much more important and practical than other branches of tourism because it creates a new chain and diversity in the field of production and services.

Agritourism and nature-tourism enterprises might include outdoor recreation (fishing, hunting, wildlife study, horseback riding), educational experiences (cannery tours, cooking classes, or tea or coffee tasting), entertainment (harvest festivals or barn dances), hospitality services (farm stays, guided tours, or outfitter services), and on-farm direct sales (u-pick operations or roadside stands).

Agritourism is a subset of a larger industry called rural tourism that includes resorts, off-site farmers' markets, non-profit agricultural tours, and other leisure and hospitality businesses that attract visitors to the countryside.

In January 2020, Malayer was named a global hub for woodcarving and carved-wood furniture by the World Crafts Council - Asia Pacific Region (WCC-APR).

Currently, more than 60 percent of the furniture and woodcarving products in Iran are reportedly produced in Malayer and they are sent to various Iranian cities or being exported to Central Asian countries, Persian Gulf littoral states, Turkey, and Iraq amongst some others.

Known in classical times as Ecbatana, Hamedan was one of the ancient world’s greatest cities. Pitifully little remains from antiquity, but significant parts of the city center are given over to excavations, and there’s a scattering of historical curiosities.

Ecbatana was the capital of Media and was subsequently the summer residence of the Achaemenian kings and one of the residences of the Parthian kings. According to ancient Greek writers, the city was founded in about 678 BC by the semi-legendary Deioces, who was the first king of the Medes. The Greek historian Herodotus described the city in the 5th century BC as being surrounded by seven concentric walls.

ABU/AFM