www.tehrantimes.com The Deputy Head of Iran's Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization (CHTO) Mohammad Malekzadeh conferred with the French ambassador to Tehran Bernard Poletti on expansion of mutual ties in tourism sector.
At the meeting, Malekzadeh said that Iran and France have extensive ties in various cultural, political and economic domains and urged that tourism also needs to be taken into view.
"The draft memorandum of understanding (MOU) on tourism, which was mutually signed in the past, has not yet been implemented. Recently it was revised and is now ready to be resigned," he pointed out.
The CHTO official referred to one of the items of the MOU concerning formation of a joint tourist committee and said that the private sector of the two states can start their activities in this respect before the implementation of the MOU.
He reiterated the need to use the potentials, capacities and experiences of both countries in the field of tourism and said that according to the MOU, the expertise of the two sides in training, marketing, publicity and hotel management will also be used.
"Iran welcomes investment in the sector by France and is prepared to organize tours for French journalists, reporters and students to enable them visit Iran and get an idea on the country's attractions.
For his part, Poletti referred to the ancient civilizations of both states and said his country is prepared to pursue cooperation in the field of tourism. Putting the number of tourists annually visiting France at 70 million, he said, "Despite its suitable potentials and capacities in the field, Iran has not been introduced to the world properly."
Poletti said that one of the problems with Iran's tourism is the lack of sufficient infrastructures.
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