TEHRAN – Among the world’s top tourist destinations, Iran is one of the safest and most peaceful, a member of the Iranian parliament has said.

Iran is a safe, calm, and beautiful tourism hub in the world, which is always exposed to conspiracies and schemes against it, CHTN quoted Seyyed Ali Yazdikhah as saying on Thursday.

It has been a great deal of effort and attention in recent years to develop tourism in various fields, especially religious tourism, in order to benefit from its income in cultural and economic areas, he added.

But due to the outbreak of the coronavirus, tourism development has been slowed and damaged, he mentioned.

However, the new team in the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts has raised hopes for a more prosperous tourism industry, he stated.

He also noted that it is very important to continue the fight against Iranophobia and introduce a safe and beautiful Iran.

Long shunned by Western travelers, the Islamic Republic has steadily stepped-up efforts to use tourism, over the past couple of years, to help promote its international image battered by endless opposition mostly from the U.S.

Experts believe even before the pandemic, Iran’s tourism was already grappling with some challenges, on top of those Western “media propaganda” aimed at scaring potential travelers away from the Islamic Republic. They say Iran is still somehow “unknown” to many potential travelers due to such a “media war.”

Before the COVID pandemic, Iran's tourism had constantly been growing, reaching more than eight million visitors in the Iranian calendar year 1398 (started March 21, 2019). That surge, however, helped prejudices to become thick and thin.

However, Iran’s trump card is that the country benefits from a wide variety of travel destinations ranging from seacoasts and lush green woods to towering mountains and harsh deserts. As a wallet-friendly destination with hospitable people, Iran has long been a desired destination for nature lovers, birdwatchers, powder chasers, culture devotees, pilgrims, museum-goers, foodies, adventurers, and medical travelers, to name a few.

Mass COVID-19 vaccinations, consecutive fam tours for foreign tour operators, easing travel procedures, and fresh strategies, altogether, suggest Iran is determined to experience a tourism rebound with a greater reliance on its numerous tourist spots of which 26 are UNESCO World Heritage, above all, its welcoming people.

ABU/AM