World Tourism Organization Secretary-General Highlights Iran’s Tourism potentials Taleb D. Rifai, the Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization (WTO) underscored that during his last month visit to attend the 8th International Tourism Exhibition in Tehran he has observed that Iran has very huge tourism capacities.
Rifai said in Berlin on Tuesday that Iran has the capacity to become an important tourism destination, and there must be the political will to make tourism part of the country’s future.
Rifai added that as one of the world’s oldest civilizations with all its wonderful ancient cultural and religious sites, Iran has the potential of being a tourist attraction. In February, Rifai underlined that the WTO is resolved to develop the tourism industry in Iran.
Iranian Vice-President and ICHHTO Chief Massoud Soltanifar stated that during the first half of the current Iranian year (March 21-September 22), the number of foreign tourists showed a 200 percent rise compared to the corresponding period in the last year bringing around $5.5 billion of revenues to the country. He noted that Iran is among the world’s top 10 attractive tourist resorts.
Iran has over one million historical and natural sites, adding that only 31,100 or nearly three percent of them have been registered.
Tourism companies from South Korea, Turkey, India, Switzerland, Venezuela, Armenia, Thailand, China, Vietnam, Tunisia and Malaysia attended the 8th International Tourism Exhibition in Tehran.
