First and largest international ecotourism exhibition will be held in Tehran during September 23-29 in Tehran.
As reported by Fars news agency, the venue of the exhibition will be adjacent to the Azadi Stadium in west of the capital city concurrent with the Fourth Muslim Women Sports Competitions.
The exposition will revolve around the theme of medical and sports tourism. Some 2,500 Muslim women athletes together with 15,000 foreign guests will travel to Iran on the occasion.
As per estimates by the Iran Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization, the exhibition will be a major step in promoting national tourism.
Domestic sporting capacities can be exploited to draw more foreign visitors to the country. For that reason, a memorandum of understanding has been drafted and will soon be signed by ICHTO, Physical Education Organization and the Olympics Committee.

A view of Hafezieh in Shiraz

Chief of Shiraz Hotel Owners Union stated that Norouz holiday-goers flocked to Shiraz since March 18 with an average 100,000 travelers entering the city on a daily basis, ILNA reported.
Mohammad Nour-Honar added that hotels and guesthouses could only accommodate 15 percent of all visitors and the rest were put up in schools and camping sites.
In related news, director general of Fars Department of Environment told IRNA that some 250,000 people toured the natural sightseeing places during the vacations.
Majid Abadi said they mostly visited Parishan Lake, Margoon Waterfall and Bamo National Park.
He added that Parishan Lake in Kazeroun city with 150,000 visitors hosted the largest number of guests.
Abdi also mentioned that Norouz holidaymakers took heed of instructions for preserving the environment.

The name Ali Qapu, (Magnificent Gate), was given to this place as it was at the entrance to the Safavid palaces which stretched from the Naqsh-e Jahan Square to Chahar Bagh Boulevard.
The building, another wonderful Safavid edifice, was built by decree of Shah Abbas the Great in the early 17th century. It was here that the great monarch used to entertain noble visitors and foreign ambassadors.
Shah Abbas for the first time celebrated the Norouz of 1006 AH (1597 AD) in this place. A large and massive rectangular structure, the Ali Qapu is 48 meters high and has six floors, fronted with a wide terrace whose ceiling is inlaid and supported by wooden columns.
Ali Qapu is rich in naturalistic wall paintings by Reza Abbasi, the court painter of Shah Abbas I, and his pupils. There are floral, animal, and bird motifs. The highly ornamented doors and windows of the palace have almost all been pillaged at times of social anarchy. Only one window on the third floor has escaped the ravages of time. Ali Qapu was repaired and restored substantially during the reign of Shah Sultan Hussein, the last Safavid ruler, but fell into a dreadful state of dilapidation again during the short reign of invading Afghans. Under the Qajarid Nassereddin Shah’s reign (1848-96), the Safavid cornices and floral tiles above the portal were replaced by tiles bearing inscriptions.
Shah Abbas II was enthusiastic about the embellishment and perfection of Ali Qapu. His chief contribution was given to the magnificent hall on the third floor. The 18 columns of the hall are covered with mirrors and its ceiling is decorated with great paintings.
The chancellery was stationed on the first floor. On the sixth, the royal reception and banquets were held. The largest rooms are found on this floor. The stucco decoration of the banquet hall abounds in motif of various vessels and cups. The sixth floor was popularly called the music room.
Here various ensembles performed music and sang songs. From the upper galleries, the Safavid ruler watched polo, maneuvers and the horse-racing opposite the square of Naqsh-e Jahan.

Images of Bam Citadel before and after the quake.

Head of Cultural Heritage Office in Bam Citadel said over 33,000 domestic and foreign tourists visited the historical monument during Norouz holidays (March 21-April 2), registering a 40-percent increase compared to last year, IRNA reported
Ali Ahmadi added that domestic sightseers comprised the majority of visitors.
According to Ahmadi, the debris removal and archeological studies at the site were suspended for the welfare of Norouz travelers, but would resume soon.
He noted that 30 people were assigned to guide visitors through the rubbles of the huge adobe structure and introduce various sections of the monument to them.
Following the devastating earthquake that rocked the city of Bam on Dec. 26, 2003, a major section of the internationally significant citadel was destroyed and more than 30,000 Bam residents lost their lives.

Kohkiloyeh-Boyerahmad province boasts 300 sightseeing places and 297 religious sites.

Near 900,000 foreign and domestic tourists visited Kohkiloyeh-Boyerahmad attractions during Norouz holidays (March 21-April 2), said an official with the provincial Cultural Heritage and Tourism Department.
Mohammad Hossein-Zadeh told IRNA the figure indicated a 30-percent growth compared to last Norouz, adding 400,000 tourists visited local religious sites, especially Bibi Hakimeh Shrine in the city of Gachsaran.
He cited extensive promotion of provincial tourism attractions, heavy rainfall in northern tourist resorts and the access provided to other provinces through Kohkiloyeh-Boyerahmad as the most important reasons behind the increase in the number of holidaymakers.
The official added that the department had coordinated affairs with health centers, medical emergency units, highway police and accommodation centers to ensure welfare for Norouz travelers.
“Siyah and Dena peaks, Yasouj, Margoun and Koursa waterfalls, Zohreh and Kharsan rivers, Bibi Hakimeh and Bibi Rashideh shrines, Shah-Qassem and Kowsar dams and Maroun Lake and Shapour Cave were the most frequently visited places,“ he mentioned.
Kohkiloyeh-Boyerahmad with an area of 16,250 square kilometers is a high-altitude mountainous land. The capital is Yasouj and there are five provincial cities of Boyerahmad, Kohkiloyeh, Gachsaran, Dena and Bahmai. The province boasts 300 sightseeing places and 297 religious sites.

All employees of tourism sector working in sightseeing, accommodation and services units will be bound to pass training courses to keep their jobs in the current year (started March 21).
Ali Akbar Einollahi, in charge of sightseeing affairs of Qeshm Free Zone Organization, made the remark in a talk with ISNA and went on, “The courses are offered in a variety of fields including basics of tourism, management in tourism, hotel management, etiquettes of hosting and serving guests, operating tours, marketing, hotel reception, housekeeping and accountancy.“
He insisted that all individuals working in tourism-related fields in the island will have to pass the relevant courses and present their licenses to their respective employees this year.

An old Tekieh--a place where religious mourning rituals are held--in Bafq, Yazd province (Photo by Oshin D. Zakarian)

Turkey’s tourism sector is becoming the star of Europe in the early reservation period, zaman.org reported.
With a 15 percent increase over last year, Turkey is leaving behind competitors such as Spain, Greece and Italy which are showing increases of around 5 percent. Tourism is also Turkey’s own most dynamic and developing sector, with an increase in the sector of over 20 percent.
The increase in the number of the tourists is set to trigger an increase in investment. The number of reservations in the first three months of last year was 1.2-1.6 million, which has risen to the 1.6-2 million bracket in the same term in 2005.
Akdeniz Tourists Hotels Union (AKTOP) Chief Osman Ayik has evaluated the development as a “serious success“. Ayik said, “Other rival countries will attempt to catch us,“ stating that Turkey has a great advantage because of the early reservations.
Ayik considers that the increase in tourism is due to many advertisements in tourism fairs. The positive atmosphere of Turkey in tourism has already started to demonstrate itself in the numbers. In the last three months, 678,607 tourists have come to Antalya, an increase of 34 percent over the total for the first three months of last year, and an increase of 54 percent on last March.
About 17.5 million tourists visited Turkey last year, and the target of this year is 20 million.
TURSAB Mediterranean Region Executive Council Deputy Chief Mustafa Egemen also claims that the accommodation capacity will not be sufficient due to the immense demand. Noting that even an additional 40,000 beds would be inadequate, Egemen said, “The Tourism Ministry says the target is eight million beds. This means 1.7 million extra. How can we supply this demand with only 400,000 beds?“

Following in the footsteps of Dubai’s mega tourism and real estate drive, Persian Gulf states are pushing their own plans to lure visitors and open up their property sector to foreigners to stimulate their economies, www.dailystar.com.lb reported.
Dubai’s bid to become the region’s business and leisure hub to help compensate for depleting oil reserves has apparently set off a domino effect in the region where Oman, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait have announced multi-billion dollar projects.
Affluent Dubai has launched several grandiose housing, entertainment and resort developments on artificial islands, three in the shape of palm trees and one resembling a world map.
Property yet to be built on at least one of the islands has been sold three times over, as investors across the Persian Gulf Arab region seemingly brush off the threat of terror or instability.
Capitalizing on a potentially lucrative market, gas-rich Qatar is in the throes of its first international real estate venture with The Pearl-Qatar, a $2.5 billion artificial island off its coast.
The initial phases of selling apartments on the development, which will include housing for up to 30,000 people, met with an overwhelming response from regional and international investors, developers said.
The island, to take the shape of a bay eventually covering an area of four million square meters of reclaimed land, will boast luxury hotels and marinas. Foreigners who buy property on it will be granted permanent residency, as is the case in Dubai.
Hussam Abu Issa, vice chairman of Salam International Investment Company in Qatar, said The Pearl was the country’s first unique project.
“The government is also trying to locate other areas where foreigners can buy property,“ he told AFP. “It’s the trend of government policy to encourage investment, and there’s been a very positive response.“ Qatar is building a $5.5 billion airport to handle up to 60 million passengers annually by 2020, while Dubai has embarked on a $4 billion airport expansion project with the same target.
Since creating a Tourism Ministry last June, picturesque Oman is actively promoting itself as a Persian Gulf destination.
“There’s various projects in Oman to encourage more investments,“ said Mohammed Ali Said, the ministry’s director general. “There’s a master plan to develop a lot of areas.“ Last year, the Omani government launched The Wave, an $805 million resort project stretching along miles of virgin beachfront just west of the capital Muscat, with 400,000 square meters of it to come from reclaimed land.
Some 400 kilometers from the capital in Ras al-Had, the sultanate will next year start work on a multi-billion dollar eco-resort including an airport and houses open for sale to foreigners.
“There’s no competition between us and the [other] Persian Gulf [states]. We complement each other. Tourists can go shopping in Dubai and come here to see the real culture, tradition and heritage,“ Said said.
Tiny Bahrain is building its largest luxury residential, commercial and resort development, one of the kingdom’s three major leisure and housing projects to encourage investment.
The $1.2 billion Durrat al-Bahrain, or Rising Pearl, will consist of 13 islands and a range of facilities with 2,000 villas and 3,000 apartments available for sale to expatriates.
Due for completion by late 2009, it is expected to be one and a half times larger than the capital Manama and accommodate 30,000 residents and 4,000 visitors daily.
Bahrain’s Cabinet lately approved additional areas in specific tourist regions where non-Bahrainis can own real estate.
Conservative Kuwait, where alcohol and discos are banned and hotels need permission to stage musical concerts, is also vying for a slice of the region’s expanding industry, taking a first step by easing its rigid visa rules.