TEHRAN – More than 700 tourism events have been held across Iran during the first four months of the current Iranian calendar year (started March 21), the deputy tourism minister has said.

“710 tourism events in the forms of festivals, exhibitions, and different rituals have been held in various provinces during the first four months of the year,” Mehr quoted Ali-Asghar Shalbafian as saying on Wednesday.

That number shows over a two-fold increase in comparison to the same period last year, the official said.

Festivals on agritourism, indigenous rituals, gastronomy, and cooking -- on local, regional, and national scales -- constituted the lion’s share of the tourism events this year, Shalbafian said.

The ancient country has a culturally-diverse society dominated by a wide range of interethnic relations. Native speakers of Persian (Farsi language) are considered as the predominant ethnic generally of mixed ancestry, and the country has important Turkic, Kurd, and Arab elements in addition to the Lurs, Baloch, Bakhtiari, and other smaller minorities such as Armenians, Assyrians, and Jews.

Experts say that ethnic tourism provides the ground for potential sightseers to feel like indigenous people by living with a nomad or rural family or enjoying an independent stay. However, as the name implies, it’s a trip for recreational purposes rather than an expedition for anthropological research.

Iran is a paradise for foodies when it comes to gastronomy tourism. No Persian meal is complete without an abundance of herbs. Every table is set with sabzi-khordan, a basket of fresh herbs, radishes, and scallions, which are eaten raw and by the handful, often tucked into a piece of fresh flatbread with a bite of feta, cucumber, or walnuts.

Experts believe that food tourism has become one of the most dynamic and creative segments of tourism and, at the same time, has naturally positioned itself as an element of diversification of tourism with a high impact on the promotion of sustainable development at the regional and local levels.

In 2020, Iran joined an online campaign launched by the UNWTO to promote gastronomy as an essential part of tourism. Iranian cuisine, usually dominated by fragrant herbs, varies from region to region. It principally accentuates freshness, deliciousness, and colorfulness.

AFM