Iranian agencies will take part in Bahrain’s Third International Health Tourism Exhibition (2005) to present and promote Iranian facilities in the field to Arab countries, ISNA reported.
The IHT 2005 is the third such specialized event to be held in Manama, Bahrain, during 14-16 December. Several Arab countries including United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Kuwait and Iraq as well as Iran, Germany, Syria, Canada and Singapore will be present at the exposition.
Head of Iran’s Therapeutic Tours Group, Esrafil Shafizadeh, said the group along with Sabalan Hydrotherapy Company, Geno Hydrotherapy and Recreational Complex, state-run and private hospitals, specialized clinics, medical associations, sports, health and transportation institutions as well as a number of hotels and motels will be represented at the exhibit. An area of 350 square meters has been allocated to Iran.
He added that Khorasan, Charmahal-Bakhtiari and Bushehr provinces would also present their tourist and recreational attractions in the exhibition.
“Introducing and marketing Iran’s capabilities in thermalism, hydrotherapy, physical rehabilitation, cosmetic surgeries as well as the national tourist attractions are the aims of attending IHT,“ he mentioned.
Shafizadeh stated that thanks to its presence in the two former IHT exhibits, Iran has become the focus of agencies which organize foreign medical tours in Arab states.

Active travel agencies have soared to 2,500 from 90 over the past decade.

Unbridled issuance of permits for establishing travel agencies as well as unsavory competitions in the business have pushed up to 40 percent of the agencies to the brink of bankruptcy, a member of Association of Travel Agencies warned.
The large number of travel agencies mushrooming around the country is the most important dilemma facing the sector, Morteza Sarbakhshian told ISNA.
He stated that at present, 70 percent of travel agencies are functioning as dealers in obtaining traveler visas.
“The number of active travel agencies, which was 90 up until 10 years ago, has now swelled to 2,500,“ Sarbakhshian revealed.
Also a group of inexpert individuals deteriorate the situation by pulling wires to obtain permits for ticket issuance and then sell their permits to others, he expanded.
These conditions have caused about 40 percent of travel agencies to be teetering on the edge of bankruptcy, Sarbakhshian reiterated.
He elaborated that only 10 to 15 percent of agencies can afford their expenses which include taxes, insurance and wages of personnel, while the rest have turned into loss-making entities, the official stressed.
An annual 10 percent increase in taxes and 40 percent rise in insurance premiums siphon off the pockets of agencies, Sarbakhshian concluded.

Remains of the huge and glorious fortress of Qez Qaleh, located on a remote mountain, can be seen at a distance of 20 km from Takestan, Qazvin province, beside Abkoloo Village. This castle culminates in deep precipices from three directions so that the only entry is confined to the southern entrance. The highly elevated parapet that is made up of particles and mortar is more than 3.6 meters in thickness. This wall depicts the stability and firmness of this defensive fortress. The wide perspective which thoroughly overlooks the vast plain of Qazvin, the wonderful mixture of particles, rubbles and bricks, harmonious depressions and reliefs on the parapet, beautiful vaulted paintings and some other designs which are all left from the Sassanid period are the characteristics of Qez Qaleh.

A Russian delegation comprising representatives from Russian Tourism Union is in Tehran to exchange views with Iranian counterparts on the expansion of tourism links, head of Iranian Travel Agencies Guild Union said.
Mohammad Hassan Kermani told IRNA that negotiations were held between the two sides to improve tourism relations and exchange sightseers.
Citing statistics presented at the meeting, he stated that close to 20 million Russians travel abroad each year, of whom 5.5 million are tourists.
Turkey hosts 1.5 million and United Arab Emirates close to 200,000 Russian travelers per annum, Kermani added.
He revealed that 29,000 Russians visit Iran each year on business, while only 1,000 come to the country as tourists.
Stating that the Iranian and Russian officials assessed ways of promoting tourism ties at the meeting, Kermani noted that Russians are critical of the negative propaganda against the Islamic Republic in their media which discourage their people from traveling to Iran.
“People of Russia are not properly informed about Iran and are under the influence of negative images portrayed in the media,“ he insisted.
Russian Tourism Union is comprised of 1,000 travel agencies from 61 cities. Only five Russian agencies organize tour programs to Iran, while the rest do not regard Iran as a safe country, Kermani concluded.

Ten villages in Yazd province have been selected for special tourism zones with the cooperation of provincial Department of Housing and Urban Development, ISNA reported.
Deputy head of Yazd Cultural Heritage and Tourism Department, Amir Reza Vaziri, made the remark adding the feasibility studies for the villages will be worked out by the yearend (March 2006). The required budget shall be disbursed by the ICHTO.
“The tourist villages fall into two categories depending on their historical importance or natural landscapes,“ Vaziri added.
Vaziri stated that the villages would be prioritized based on their infrastructure and facilities.
According to the official, Kharanaq, Saryazd, Fahraj, Tezerjan, Bondarabad, Bastrooyeh and Dehbala have been designated as tourism villages of Yazd province.

Meymand village in Kerman province dates back to the Achaemenid dynasty.

An Iranian investor plans to help flourish tourism industry in the mountainous Meymand village, southern Kerman province, ISNA reported.
An entrepreneur from central Yazd province has conducted a two-year study on a project that would convert the ancient village into a tourism magnet.
Mohammad Reza Haji Rahimi believes that Iran’s splendid heritage should be publicized through fans of ancient civilizations who visit the historical monuments.
He regretted that Meymand with a history of over 10,000 years has not been yet fully restored.
It was only in 2001 when a group of heritage lovers and the cultural heritage base stationed in the area started restoration operations in the rock village, Haji Rahimi recalled.
He elaborated that his plan envisages construction of hostels and car parks, restoration operations, research on traditional herbs and archeology of the village as well as compiling Meymand’s comprehensive cultural encyclopedia.
Criticizing the provincial officials for their apathy toward the ancient village, Haji Rahimi, stated that faced with budgetary shortfalls, the village lacks basic infrastructure and amenities to render services to villagers and travelers.
Haji Rahimi, who is also managing director of Aryan Isatis Company, observed that poor media publicity has left sightseers uninformed of such a historically important landscape. The village also lacks public transport facilities.
The investor expanded that establishment of tourism facilities apposite to cultural importance of the village including teahouses, traditional eateries, playgrounds, handicraft shops and workshops as well as medicinal herb stores are among other objectives.
He opined that although the existence of natural and historical attractions is a sine qua non, they should be supplemented with proper amenities to entice travelers, he opined.
“Even the most marvelous historical edifices would have no appeal to tourists unless provided with quality transport, welfare, medical and safety services,“ Haji Rahimi concluded.
Meymand was awarded Greece’s Seventh Melina Mercouri International Prize for the Safeguarding and Management of Cultural Landscapes in September.
The astonishing village, dating back to the Achaemenid dynasty (2,500 years ago), is located some 35 km off Shahr-e Babak in southern Kerman province.

Besh Qardash countryside in Bojnourd, North Khorasan province (Photo by IRNA)

Foreign tourists visit the Emerald Buddha Temple at the Grand Palace in Bangkok, Thailand.

Badly hit by the Asian tsunami in December last year, Thailand has fallen short of its target of luring more than 13 million tourists this year, a senior tourism official said, Reuters reported.
Thailand will likely end the year with 12 million tourist arrivals, roughly equal to 2004, but well off its 2005 target of 13.4 million visitors, said Santichai Eauchongprasit, deputy governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand.
But he expected the lucrative industry to rebound next year, helped by campaigns to draw holidaymakers back to Thailand’s Andaman Sea playground where the tsunami killed 5,395 Thais and foreigners on Dec. 26.
“Foreign travelers are starting to come back to Thailand now after the tsunami last year,“ said Santichai, whose agency will spend 26 million baht ($634,500) on New Year celebrations across the country to lure tourists.
Spending by foreign travelers was expected to reach 420 billion baht next year, up more than 10 percent from the 380 billion baht estimated for this year, he said.
Tourism, which makes up 6 percent of the country’s gross domestic product, is a rapidly growing industry for Thailand, which dubs itself “The Land of Smiles,“ and employs millions of people.

Indian workers pick leaves in a tea garden.

Your tea break was never so exotic. Indian tea planters are turning parts of their verdant Assam and Darjeeling estates in the east of the country into luxury resorts, Reuters reported.
Guests get to tour tea gardens and pluck tea leaves. Nature walks, trekking, rafting and golf are also on offer, punctuated, of course, by as much tea tasting as you like.
“We are creating a lifestyle product for companies and individuals,“ said Ranjit Barthakur, whose tea tourism promoting firm is in joint venture talks with Tata Tea among others, and who plans to develop 1,000 rooms in India’s north east over the next 10 years.
Times are hard in the tea industry. Falling international prices, stiff global competition and labor troubles dog India’s major producers, so the new ventures need to be more than just a sideline.
“Tea tourism ... is an alternative revenue stream being explored by planters. The potential is very good,“ said B. Banerjee, chief of the state-run Tea Board.
Leading growers such as McLeod Russel, Tata Tea, and the Birla family’s Jayashree Tea have high hopes for their schemes,
after seeing successful parallels among champagne vineyards and distilleries elsewhere.
“Countries have their own tourism industry around these products. We are developing tourism around our tea gardens,“ said Jhum Jhum Shirali, spokeswoman for McLeod Russel, which is developing six estates in the northeastern state of Assam.
“The response is good and we are already booked through January,“ Shirali said.
Similar resorts are coming up in Assam, and in the eastern state of West Bengal, home to the famous Darjeeling tea gardens in the foothills of the eastern Himalayas.
Plantation buildings are often well-preserved relics of the colonial era. Sprawling wooden bungalows, large courtyards filled with colorful flowers, century-old trees and green lawns capture an old-world charm.
Nestled deep in the verdant tea gardens, staff living quarters and bungalows are being turned into luxury apartments with modern amenities.
The resorts can be self-sufficient too, often with their own poultry, dairy, fishery, orchards and vegetable gardens.
Authorities in Assam and West Bengal are also encouraging private investors to turn defunct tea states into tourist spots.
“We have found that there are tourists, both domestic and international, who are interested in visiting the tea gardens,“ West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee told reporters.
India’s government has set aside 100 million rupees ($2 million) to develop a tea-tourism infrastructure in West Bengal. Planters could do with a boost.
India shares the world top spot for black tea production with China, but competition from producers like Sri Lanka and Kenya has taken its toll in exports.
If the chance to play the colonial planter is your cup of tea, be warned it will cost a fair bit more than your corner-cafe cuppa.
Plantations are targeting the wealthy end of the tourist market, charging about 20,000 rupees ($440) per night.