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Iran’s tourism industry needs strategic marketing

Business Materials 18 July 2018 11:12 (UTC +04:00)

Tehran, Iran, July 18

By Kamyar Eghbalnejad, A. Shirazi - Trend:

The dean of the International Entrepreneurship Academy said Iran has many tourist attractions but it needs to organize them through strategic marketing.

“Entrepreneurship is a local phenomenon. It happens in a village, in a city on the ground. I think it is something that is going on all over the world and it is good for us to exchange experience and also to do vast research together on it. Initiatives are done not by governments; they are by network, by young people who work for networks,” Ralph Anderson told Trend on July 18.

He added that Iranian researchers and also other organizations are collaborating with the EU, but this is not enough and should expand.

“There is a big potential and this needs to grow,” he said.

"Iran has many attractions and there is a very strong interest in Iran from around the world because Iran has rich cultural heritage, historical places, and excellent foods. Therefore, it is a strong culture. Iran has many attractions but they have to be organized. There has to be more strategic marketing. That could also be an initiative jointly with other countries,” Anderson further said.

“There is a lot of potential and entrepreneurs have to service it. They can develop innovative services and solutions that can be valuable for both. So if there is tourism and there is openness for entrepreneurs to start new companies and develop new ideas. Then the two will strengthen each other,” he said.

Iran is among the world’s top potential tourist destinations with a variety of ancient sites, including 17 places listed by the UNESCO.

The country is attracting camera-wielding Westerners in droves, where ancient bazaars, museums, mosques, monuments, gardens and palaces along with historical ruins, amazing rural landscapes and bustling cities provide a feast for the eyes to behold and be enchanted with.

According to a biannual report by the World Economic Forum (WEF) for 2017, Iran was the most affordable tourism destination for the third year in a row, where local foods, teas, Persian poetry books and nomadic carpets cost little.

The total contribution of travel and tourism to the country’s GDP in 2016 was 7.7 percent, and it is expected to rise some 4.9 percent in 2017. Tourism revenues over the past year grew 11 percent to more than $8.3 billion, during which 5.5 million foreign travelers visited the country.

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