The dissemination of negative news is the main reason behind the refusal of foreign tourists to visit Iran.
Head of Iran’s Tourism Information Institute in South Korea, Sal Kim, who was participating in the First International Tour Operators Conference, made the above remark.
Sal said Iran is seven times bigger than South Korea and has many diverse attractions that appeal to foreign tourists, CHN reported.
“For example, the local costumes in some cities and their traditions are, indeed, different. Moreover, people’s faces are different from each other while the people of Korea look like each other and this is quite interesting for Koreans,“ he said.
Wrong Impression
Sal admitted that Koreans are afraid of coming to Iran. This is because news reflected about Iran in Korea is unrealistic and bad.
“Koreans think since Afghanistan and Iraq are Iran’s neighbors, there also people like Taliban in Iran who will trouble tourists,“ he said.
He noted that Iranian officials should introduce Iran to foreigners realistically and help alter the negative attitude toward Iran.
“By propagating news and information about security and tourism attractions of Iran via TV networks, print media and the Internet, many tourists can be encouraged to visit Iran,“ he said.
The South Korean official emphasized that the Internet is the most accessible and comprehensive means for propagating news and information about Iran.
“In South Korea, a large number of people use the Internet frequently,“ he said.
Sal, who is a student of Iranian Studies in South Korea, said, “I was a student of Iranian Studies at an Iranian university for 11 months. I was a student until two months ago. As a student, I visited many attractive Iranian cities such as Kermanshah, Hamedan, Shiraz, Isfahan and Yazd. The historical sites in these cities, such as Persepolis, are known across the world.“
Commenting on the visit of foreign tour operators to Iran for attending the conference, Sal said, “The planning for the undertaking was good. Iranian officials introduced very good tourism attractions of Iran to the foreign tour operators. But, the event was quite intensive. We were all tired during the workshop, scheduled for the final phase of the undertaking, which was important.“
Viewpoints of Tourists
Chief of Technical Cooperation of World Tourism Organization (WTO) Harsh Varma, commenting on the assessment of training in Iranian tourism industry, said, “Every time that I visit Iran, I witness rapid and positive changes. I personally believe that training conditions in Iran are improving at a suitable pace. I do not say that everything is perfect, but it should be remembered that training is a time-consuming process and does not produce results overnight.“
Tourism Manager of the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Herve Barre said Iranian handicrafts have been awarded 45 top prizes by UNESCO.
“In today’s world, culture is one of the pillars for attracting tourists. Tourism needs investments and can become the source of economic advancement,“ he said.
Director of Iran Tour Leaders’ Association Ebrahim Pour-Faraj said, “Many tour operators of countries that could not participate in the conference asked when the second conference will be held. This means that we were quite successful (in holding the first conference).“
He also said that foreign tourists do not come to Iran because they have a negative impression about Iran.
“We should invite them and change their viewpoints about Iran,“ he said.
He pointed out that the negative attitude of many foreign tour operators, who had not seen Iran before, changed when they traveled to Iran and became familiar with its numerous attractions.
Relying on Iranian Tour Agencies
An American tour operator, who attended the conference, said, “I am very serious in terms of cooperating with Iranian tour operators. I held constructive talks with the private sector tour operators in Isfahan, Shiraz, Tehran and Kish Island and also senior officials of ICHHTO. This was a very good experience.“
John Paul Chevalier, who was speaking to ISNA, said, “Unfortunately, the negative atmosphere created about Iran by the media also at times affects the American people.
However, a large number of Americans think that in the past eight years they had a very bad president and this is responsible for them losing touch with Iran. But, now the situation has changed.“
He suggested that before coming to Iran, Americans should learn about Iran.
“I think that the American people have no fears about coming to Iran. I hope that we can increase our common understanding by holding talks,“ he said.
Chevalier, who is an advisor to three large tour agencies in America, said he has developed an interest in cultural-historical tourism, ecotourism and sports tourism in Iran.
“Iran has four seasons and many American people will be interested in visiting Iran for skiing and seeing other attractions,“ he said.
He stressed that American tourists planning to visit Iran should be provided with accurate information about the country.
“I found many tour agencies in Iran that are experts in this regard.
After leaving Iran, I will rely on Iranian tour agencies.
I want Iranian experts to make available to me the information that I do not have access to so that I could transfer them to interested Americans.“
Some 531 domestic and foreign tour operators from 46 countries attended the conference, which hopefully will help officials incorporate these suggestions and boost tourism.
