A one-day conference on expansion of tourist exchanges between Iran and China was held in Beijing last week. The decision on holding the seminar was made after China agreed to introduce Iran to Chinese tourists as a charming tourist attraction.
Iran's Cultural Attaché to China and head of Iran-China Tourism Promotion Council, Mohammad-Javad Aqajari, said that the confab was arranged jointly by Iran's embassy and cultural attaché office in Beijing and a few private Iranian travel agencies.
The event was attended by a number of private and state-run Iranian companies, travel agencies from both countries, Iranian businessmen residing in China, representatives of airlines from both states and the Chinese media giving coverage to tourist affairs.
A delegation representing Iran's Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization also participated.
The officials in charge of tourism and private Iranian travel agencies briefed the audience on Iran's tourist facilities and the prerequisites for admission of foreign tourists, in particular those from China.
On the sidelines of the meeting there was an exhibition on Iran's traditional handicrafts and tourist attractions.
Iran intends to invest 30 billion dollars in the tourism sector within the framework of the Fourth Five-Year Development Plan (2005-2010). Given the government's 10 percent share in promotion of tourism, Chinese investors are called upon to participate in the country's major infrastructural tourist projects. |