Countries across the globe celebrated the World Tourism Day on September 27.
The theme of the World Tourism Day this year is "Sports and tourism: living forces for mutual understanding, culture and the development of society".
The World Tourism Organization has chosen the designation with the hope that all countries, especially those like Iran, which enjoy great sporting potentials, would be able to promote tourism to an appropriate level, according to ISNA.
On the occasion of the World Tourism Day, which is celebrated worldwide on September 27, the World Tourism Organization Secretary General Francesco Frangialli and the International Olympics Committee President Dr. Jacques Rogge signed a joint message, in which they stressed that "sport and tourism share common goals: building bridges of understanding between different cultures, lifestyles and traditions; promoting peace and goodwill among nations; motivating and inspiring young people and providing entertainment and enjoyment to relieve the pressures of daily life to large sections of the population."
The message further read, "Major sporting events, such as the Olympic Games, football and rugby championships and auto racing have become powerful tourism attractions in themselves-making a very positive contribution to the tourism image of the host destination."
Meanwhile, Iranian tourism officials in some provinces have set on their agendas prioritizing sports such as desert activities, mountaineering and ancient sports in a bid to match up with the global move.
Some experts insist that polo is a sport, which originated in Iran, but which has come to be known as belonging to the Britons due to the inattention of Iranian sporting officials.
Iran Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization announced 160 special cultural and artistic programs to celebrate the occasion.
One such program is the Sourgani Caravan, which is going to pass through various Iranian cities in a bid to revive cultural heritage and traditions.
Of the special programs designed for the day, one can refer to fishing contests, performance of folklore music bands and the Kites Festival in the western Kermanshah province.
Cultural Heritage and Tourism Department in south Khorasan, east of Iran, has announced programs to promote Zourkhaneh--the traditional Iranian gymnasium, literally meaning 'house of power'--in Birjand. The Zourkhaneh style sporting dates back 200 years in Birjand.
Iran has numerous untapped potentials for boosting athletic tourism such as skiing and snow sports, mountaineering and desert sports. Nevertheless, tourism managers in several provinces have said they have no special programs to observe the World Tourism Day, reasoning they were assigned to their posts only recently.

The Mausoleum of Sheikh Safieddin Ardebili is composed of a series of monuments built in various periods that was shaped as a complex for the first time by Shah Tahmasb. Later the Safavid King Shah Abbas added to the previous ones and renovated some sections. This historical complex is closely intertwined with the history of the Safavid Dynasty. Some of the Safavid kings as well as Shah Esmail I have been buried at this site. The main section of the mausoleum is composed of a circular tower with circumference of 22 meters which is about 17 meters high. In the interior of this monument, near Sheikh Safi's tomb, the tomb of his son (the founder of mausoleum) and those of other family members can be found.
At the time of Nassereddin Shah Qajar, more than a century ago, major renovations took place and some changes were made to the complex. This site has been a major attraction for domestic and non-Iranian tourists.
Main sections of the complex are the gate, the large court, the small court, the graveyard court, Shahidgah (martyrdom place), Jannat Sara Mosque and Chelleh Khaneh, which encircles Qandil Khaneh, Haramkhaneh and Chini Khaneh. The Allah Allah Dome is very famous and probably the most spectacular part of the complex.

Gilan province has seen an increase of threefold in the amount of investment in its tourism infrastructure within the past three years, the provincial deputy governor general for development affairs said.
Alizadeh told ISNA that 298 km of coastline, more than 45 permanent rivers, 565,000 hectares of forest, waterfalls and wetlands have made Gilan an ideal location for tourism projects.
He noted that Gilan Tourism Committee is working on the draft of the comprehensive tourism scheme for the province in a bid to identify and introduce the sightseeing and accommodation potentials ready for investment.
"Thanks to its picturesque beauties, Gilan can be appealing to a large group of people with different tastes. The scheme divides provincial areas into three categories namely forests, coastlines and mountains. It also takes into account cultural and sports tourism," he elaborated.
Alizadeh added that the scheme has given pivotal role to Masouleh, defining it as a historic sightseeing hamlet. "Figures indicate that between 700,000 and one million tourists visit the fabulous village every year. The volume of private investment in Masouleh has significantly grown in recent years," he noted.

The lake on top of Sabalan Mount

Mountain climbing can serve as the best tool for promotion of ecotourism, an industry which is gaining more popularity in Iran, head of the Mountaineering Federation said.
Sadeq Aqajani told ISNA that ecotourism is presently the world's most lucrative business and can generate substantial revenues for the Iranian government as well.
He noted that Iran's mountainous regions, including Sabalan Mount, provide the best choice for investments in ecotourism.
"Countries like Argentine and Nepal gain huge incomes from mountaineer groups arriving in those countries for mountain excursions every year. Turkey also earns large amounts from ecotourism yearly," Aqajani added.
He referred to the Kilimanjaro National Park in Tanzania and the crowds of enthusiast mountaineers going to the site from all over the world, and said, "Sabalan Mountain boasts unique natural features such as glaciers, a high peak with a top lake and a ski resort. This underlines the need for making investments in the region and turn it into a national park in a bid to boost regional ecotourism and economy."
Aqajani attributed the government's failure to reach ecotourism targets during the Third Development Plan (2000-2005) to lack of appropriate planning and mismanagement in implementation of the schemes.

An underground water reservoir in Bandar Abbas, Hormuzgan province

Over 20,000 foreign tourists visited Hormuzgan's sightseeing places over the past year, director general of Hormuzgan Cultural Heritage and Tourism Department said.
Ebrahim Aminipour said the figure includes only those who have entered Bandar Abbas for tourism purposes, IRNA reported.
He enumerated Hormuzgan's tourism draws as Harra (mangrove) forests, several castles, temples and ancient monuments.
"Hormuzgan's comprehensive tourism plan will be ready next month. Tourism, particularly ecotourism, has been given a central role in provincial development," Aminipour added. "We believe that plans at hand for improving facilities in tourism locations and historic sites would definitely help attract a larger number of domestic and foreign visitors to the region."

Visitors flock around the tomb of Sa'di in Shiraz, Fars province. Sheikh Musleheddin (1213-91), commonly known as Sa'di, is one of the greatest poets of Iran.

Asian tourism has bounced back to an all-time high despite concerns over terrorism and outbreaks of the deadly bird flu virus, the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) said, AFP reported.
PATA director John Koldowski said tourist arrivals had risen 27 percent over the past five years, with all countries in the Asia-Pacific region reporting strong tourism growth this year.
"China led the way, reporting 61 million arrivals between January and July this year compared to 49.1 million last year," Koldowski told AFP during a regional travel industry convention drawing 1,000 delegates to Bangkok.
He said tourism arrivals to the Indonesian island of Bali had risen almost 61 percent over the same period. Bali's tourism industry was devastated by a bomb attack in 2002.
The Indonesian capital Jakarta was hit by a deadly car bomb on September 9, but Koldowski said tourists have begun to steel themselves to terror threats.
"It's still too early to tell, but it seems that incidents such as the one that happened in Jakarta are having minimal impact on tourism," he said.
"This is the best year we have ever seen and we are still seeing strong growth since the start of 2004."
South Asia, which is traditionally a slower region in terms of tourism growth, has risen as well with India up 26 percent, Nepal up 28 percent and the Maldives up 15 percent this year.
Koldowski said the region had also fully recovered from the negative impacts of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and bird flu.
SARS killed almost 800 people, mostly in Hong Kong and China, in a worldwide outbreak last year that infected more than 8,000, while bird flu has killed 28 people this year in Vietnam and Thailand.
A series of budget airline startups such as AirAsia has fueled much of the regional travel boom, according to Koldowski.

Qouri Qaleh in Kermanshah is one of the world–s longest caves.

Director general of Kermanshah Cultural Heritage and Tourism Department said that five tourism hubs would be established in the provincial towns of Kangavar, Kermanshah, Oramanat, Qasr-e Shirin and Islamabad-e Gharb and ceded to the private sector within the next five years, IRNA reported.
Pointing to the future schemes of the department, Asadollah Biranvand explained that the department intends to pursue a short-term five-year program as well as a long-term one over a 20-year perspective.
He referred to an increase in the number of visitors from the present 200,000 to 700,000 by March 2010, as well as renovation of 40 historical monuments including the Khadivi House, Haj Hassan Khan and Haj Shahbazkhan public baths, Bisotoun and Qasr-e Shirin caravanserais as the department's targets for the years to come.
"We also plan to increase the occupancy rate for hotel beds to 70 percent during the short-term scheme," he elaborated.
According to Biranvand, the number of KCHTD museums will rise to 14 from two at the present by the end of the fourth development plan (2010).
Meanwhile, Kermanshah lawmaker told ISNA that improper accommodation is a key setback to provincial tourism.
Abdollah Mesri said that the province enjoys numerous national and historical potentials.
"Unfortunately, not much has been done to prop up the province's tourism infrastructure. We hope to be able to restore Kermanshah's share of tourism, of which it has been deprived for many years, due to various reasons including the 1980-88 war with Iraq."