TEHRAN – Further cooperation between the tourism industry and universities is essential to solving tourism-related problems, the Head of the Iranian Tour Operators Association has announced.

By bringing science and industry together, the universities will be able to solve many of the challenges facing tourism, Mehr quoted Ebrahim Pourfaraj as saying on Tuesday.

The reasons for the development and the factors leading to the backwardness of tourism in the country need to be identified, the official added.

In this regard, a review of one hundred years of Iran’s tourism industry can be used by experts to provide data and statistics related to the useful, effective, and even destructive activities, he noted.

“It is only by understanding the history and making decisions based on the experiences of our forefathers that we can learn from our mistakes and avoid repeating them.”

As evidenced by experience, the intellectual and financial support of industry and universities has led to positive results for the development of industry, he mentioned.

He also noted that by growing the tourism industry, the main unemployment issue facing the youth will be largely solved, since tourism creates jobs.

Iran is potentially a booming destination for travelers seeking cultural attractions, breathtaking sceneries, and numerous UNESCO-registered sites. 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.

Last November, the World Tourism Organization announced that international tourist arrivals to Iran plunged 72% during the first eight months of 2020 when compared to 2019, highlighting the severe impact of COVID-19 as the main factor.

Optimistic forecasts, however, expect Iran to achieve a tourism boom after coronavirus contained, believing its impact would be temporary and short-lived for a country that ranked the third fastest-growing tourism destination in 2019.

An available data show eight million tourists visited the Islamic Republic during the first ten months of the past Iranian calendar year (started March 21, 2019). . Iran welcomed some 7.8 million foreign nationals a year earlier, achieving a 52.5 percent increase year on year.

The ancient land embraces hundreds of historical sites such as bazaars, museums, mosques, bridges, bathhouses, madrasas, mausoleums, churches, towers, and mansions, of which 26 being inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list.

ABU/AFM