TEHRAN – On Tuesday, a special office dedicated to tourism research was officially launched in Tehran.

The opening ceremony was attended by the Science, Research, and Technology Minister Mohammad Ali Zolfi-Gol and officials from the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts, Mehr reported.

The office is intended to help provide quick and easy access, share, and utilize scientific resources, including projects, reports, articles, books, and university theses on tourism, in collaboration with a bureau for tourism information technology.

According to relevant sources, the office will be a link between the tourism industry, universities, and the practical application of tourism knowledge in the academic sector.

“This base is responsible for preserving tourism research records in a specialized system, consolidating them into one platform, expanding knowledge, receiving feedback, learning, and generating new ideas.”

Earlier this month, Iran implemented a visa-free regime for citizens of 32 countries in a bid to foster tourism.

“The government intends to open the country’s doors to the world…. And this decision is both courageous and deliberate by the government,” the tourism minister Ezzatollah Zarghami said.

“The decision helps foil negative advertisements, rumors, and fear-mongering about Iran,” Zarghami said. “The scheme is expected to usher in a new era of tourism development for Iran; a new chapter of prosperity and tourism development that puts an end to negative propaganda and Iranophobia.”

The visa-waiver program was reportedly approved for India, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Indonesia, Brunei, Japan, Singapore, Cambodia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Brazil, Peru, Cuba, Mexico, Bolivia, Venezuela, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Croatia, Belarus, Lebanon, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Mauritania, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Mauritius, and Seychelles.

Moreover, the Islamic Republic had previously had visited cancelations with some countries like Turkey, the Republic of Azerbaijan, Oman, China, Armenia, Lebanon, and Syria, in various forms - unilateral, bilateral, and group visa cancelations, including airport visas, which were implemented in some cases.  The privilege has been granted to tourist groups from Russia based on a mutual agreement inked between Tehran and Moscow.

The latest data provided by the tourism ministry suggests the number of foreign arrivals in the country reached 4.4 million during the first eight months of the current Iranian year (started on March 21), which shows 48.5 percent compared to that of last year.

The Islamic Republic expects to reap a bonanza from its numerous tourist spots such as bazaars, museums, mosques, bridges, bathhouses, madrasas, mausoleums, churches, towers, and mansions, of which 27 are inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list.

AM