World Tourism Organization’s Regional Representative for Asia and the Pacific observed that handiworks crafted in Iran are among the top in the world in terms of quality and diversity.
Talking to IRNA in Madrid, Spain, Xu Jing stated that given its rich culture, ancient venues and valuable handicrafts, the Islamic Republic has the potential to turn into a key tourism destination.
Pointing to the First International Tourism and Handicrafts Conference held in Tehran on May 13-14, the official evaluated the event as successful.
Xu had personally participated in the confab which was attended by experts and representatives from UNWTO and 40 countries.
He further elaborated that the conference was successful because it was the first of its kind organized by the UNWTO focusing on tourism and handicrafts together.
The official expressed satisfaction with the fact that Iran hosted the event since the Islamic Republic boasts rich cultural and historical backgrounds, with manifold potentials for a thriving tourism.
As per decisions made during the confab, the Islamic Republic will play a key role in establishing a working group on tourism and handicraft.
The group will comprise representatives from different countries as well as academicians and experts in both fields.
Optimistic about the future of Iran’s tourism, Xu observed that social and economic developments directly influence the industry.
Tourism is a vulnerable industry closely intertwined with geopolitical and security issues, he said, highlighting that global tourism industry had went through a spate of unusual crises in recent years.
However, those involved in the sector have learned how to confront and weather the crises, he commented.

Tourism experts believe that despite the existence of enormous potentials, Iran Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization (ICHTO) is short of an agenda for developing sport tourism, CHN wrote.
Iran’s insignificant share of the annual earnings from global sport tourism, estimated at $20 billion, is questionable.
“No efficient measures have been taken for promoting sport tourism. Maybe the formation of Sport Tourism Committee by ICHTO can be considered as an important step; however, little has been seen of this committee,“ Saeed Moradi, head of Sport Tourism Council of Public Sports Federation, said.
“Forming cultural pavilions during the 2006 FIFA World Cup 2006 in Germany was one positive program ICHTO implemented with the cooperation of Iranian Football Federation. That event proved we can use Iran’s sport potentials to attract more tourists. Especially the country’s diverse climate can be used for promoting sport tourism.“
Moradi admitted that some sport organizations such as the motor racing, mountaineering, rowing, and skiing federations had formerly taken steps to magnetize sport tourists, but insisted that “they need support from ICHTO as sport federations are non-governmental entities and do not have enough budget to hold international programs on a regular basis.“
Kambiz Babaei Nemati, secretary of the Sport Tourism Committee, explained, “The organization started separating sport tourism from rural and tribal tourism in May 2006 and then it began compiling a calendar for sport tourism and selected the members of the committee.“
He said ICHTO’s committee is intending to expand cooperation with the private sector. “We are determined to use private potentials, including those of travel agencies and hotels,“ added Babaei.
Considering its enormous natural potentials such as beautiful beaches usable all year round and fantastic mountains suitable for both mountaineering and skiing, Iran has a lot of options which it can exploit to catch the attention of international holidaymakers.

Since ancient times, stone has been a highly favored construction material among Iranian architects. Carved stones have been used to embellish historical monuments and increase their splendor.
Adorned with beautiful stone cravings, Chaleshtar Castle magnificently sits near Shahr-e Kurd, the capital of the western Chaharmahal-Bakhtiari province. Its architecture is a combination of Qajarid and European designs. The history of the monument, also known as Khani Castle, stretches back 110 years. The castle with its stone columns is located in Chaleshtar region which was once the seat of local government during Safavid era. The date of construction is carved on the capital of one of its columns. The historic Chaleshtar complex has a stone-made entrance gate, bathhouse (decorated with turquoise tiles), warehouse and stable.
The Andaruni or the inner section of the castle is linked via a hall to a Khan Neshin (the royal parlor). The portico of the castle with its ten columns is decorated with bricks and Moarraq (inlay) tiles.
The rooms are also adorned with paintings of Qajarid style which is a combination of Iranian and western painting. The ceiling of Andaruni is designed with frames made of walnut wood. Doors and windows are also made of walnut wood.

The cable car route will pass by the Ganjnameh waterfall and river.

Executive operations for establishing a cable car facility in Ganjnameh historic site dating back to the Sassanid era, were launched.
Managing director of Ganjnameh Cable Car, Bahrami, explained that the site for building the aerial tramway had been moved further from the archeological area in the wake of examinations by experts from Iran Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization, ISNA reported.
He reckoned that the first phase of the project would become operational by the yearend (March 2007).
“The project has been divided into three executive phases which will have an overall cost of 150 billion rials,“ he mentioned.
Ganjnameh aerial tramway is being built along 1,650 meters at a height of 160 meters and within a 700-meter distance from the Ganjnameh inscriptions.
The new route delineated for the cable car, he elaborated, will pass by the Ganjnameh waterfall and river.
Ganjnameh, five km southwest of Hamedan, is located on one of Mount Alvand foothills. Since ancient Hegmataneh was the Achaemenid summer capital and located along the Imperial Route, Darius I, after engraving the Bistun inscription, ordered another inscription to be engraved in Ganjnameh. Later, his son Xerxes had another inscription engraved on the right side and a little lower than his father’s (about 500 BC).

Deputy head of Iran Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization said at present, 100 rest houses are providing services along intercity roads countrywide.
Mohammad Sharif Malekzadeh told IRNA that 200 new rest stops, providing adequate welfare facilities, would be launched adjacent to roads and freeways by March 2007.
Drivers and passengers will be able to use restaurants, shops, car parks, prayer halls and public conveniences at the service areas, he added.
The official noted that construction of 23 new service centers along roads leading to Khorasan Razavi province will be completed by late September.
A National Committee to Organize Roadside Rest Areas has for the first time been set up in the organization, he said.
Malekzadeh cited a memorandum of understanding signed between ICHTO and Ministry of Roads and Transportation based on which permits would be issued for construction of service plazas along intercity roads and bank loans would be offered to investors.
He invited entrepreneurs interested in creating rest houses in the adjacency of roads to present their proposals to provincial cultural heritage and tourism departments.

Tomb of prominent Iranian poet Baba Taher Hamedani (1000-1055) in Hamedan.

Singapore Tourism Board (STB) has launched a new Muslim Visitor’s Guide, www.asiatraveltips.com reported.
The guide features essential information on annual events, cultural districts of Singapore, major shopping areas and vital visitor advice written specifically for Muslim tourists.
It also features a list of restaurants certified by MUIS, the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore, so that visitors can comfortably find Halal food in a variety of Singaporean, Chinese, Malay, Indian and Middle Eastern eating places when they visit the country.
The guide is being supported by a new Arabic language version of the popular Visit Singapore website, which features online updates of new attractions and festivals taking place.
STB executives are confident that the guide will prove popular with Middle East residents looking to decide the location of their next holiday.
“Feedback from our large network of travel agents in the region has shown that there is a real demand for information about Singapore, so we decided to launch a bespoke guide especially for Muslim visitors,“ said Alan Tan, Area Director, Middle East and Africa, Singapore Tourism Board.
“We are anticipating a large volume of requests for the guide, particularly in countries like the UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, from where we are welcoming increasing numbers of visitors in the summer of 2006,“ he added.
The guide complements the Uniquely Singapore Muslim Visitor’s Dining Guide, launched earlier this year, which contains an extensive range of Halal restaurants in Singapore, as well as a list of “Must Try“ local dishes.
Over 14 percent of the population in Singapore is Muslim and the country has a long history of welcoming Muslim travelers from around the world. Singapore’s Arab Street, which predates the arrival of Europeans in the country, is one South East Asia’s oldest ethnic Arab enclaves.
Copies of the new guide are available directly from Singapore Tourism Board or from their partners across the region.

A local musician from Lorestan province

Lorestan is preparing for a series of tourism-oriented festivities which shall start as of late July. Speaking to ISNA, deputy head of Lorestan Cultural Heritage and Tourism Department, Mahmoud Azizi, said at least six festivals have been scheduled with themes such as tribal lifestyle, indigenous gastronomy and traditional music.
Handicrafts and traditional music comprise the core of each event.
Azizi noted various indigenous potentials would be exhibited in the festivals which will run through late September. Each event will last a minimum three days.

Although Saudi Arabia seems an unlikely destination for fun in the sun, there was a Saudi prince at a tourism conference in neighboring Dubai, busily trying to sell his country as a vacation spot.
Undaunted, the kingdom of Saudi Arabia is opening its doors, beckoning curious world travelers to its mysterious and hidden treasures.
The change springs from the new policies of King Abdullah. “Abdullah wants to show the world a different face to the kingdom. It’s all part of a greater plan to open up the country, to show that though it is Arab and Islamic, it is also modern and moderate,“ said Mishari al Thaybi, a Saudi writer and analyst for the London-based newspaper Al Sharq al Awsat, AP reported.
The king, together with the country’s tourism commission, wants to wash out the stain left on the Saudi reputation by the Sept. 11 attacks, in which 15 of the 19 hijackers were from the oil-rich desert kingdom.
At a recent tourism exhibition in Dubai, Prince Sultan bin Salman bin Abdel Aziz, secretary-general of the Saudi tourism commission, announced the kingdom was in the process of licensing 18 tour operators to issue tourist visas to non-Muslim visitors from the West and Asia.
Saudi officials characterize the number of non-religious visitors so far as only “a handful,“ but they hope to boost that to 50,000 a year initially and to 200,000 annually by 2010.
But the opening comes with strict rules. According to the tourism commission, only single entry visas will be issued. Coed tours will be allowed--as long as a father or brother is with any women under 40. Visitors must follow local customs, and a booklet printed in several languages will be distributed to tourists instructing them on Saudi’s strict social traditions.
All female tourists will be required to dress according to Saudi tradition.
If tourists choose to travel during the holy month of Ramadan, tourists will not be allowed to eat or drink in public during fasting hours.
One thing visitors won’t do, however, is tour Islam’s most holy sites, including the cities Mecca and Medina. They are off limits to non-Muslims.