Tehran, IRNA – Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi stressed on Monday that family-oriented tourism, abolition of tourist visas with target states, facilitation and support of private sector investment in the tourism sector by granting loans and facilities, are amongst the necessary measures for the development and prosperity of tourism.
Speaking at the National Museum of Iran on Monday morning as part of the process of supervision of executive bodies, and in the presence of the Minister and directors of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts, President Raisi listened to the one-year performance report of this collection and gave guidelines for improving the qualitative and quantitative performance of this ministry.
Referring to the three important missions of this ministry in the fields of cultural heritage, tourism, and handicrafts, the President noted that cultural heritage has important tasks in the field of identification, registration, restoration, and maintenance, determining the protected areas of works and introduction plus using of cultural and historical heritages.
Emphasizing that if the cultural works are not used, those works will fade away, he underlined that the continuity of life and effectiveness of cultural and historical works depends on the correct and proper use of those works and the possibility of people visiting and using them.
Raisi underscored that determining the protected areas of cultural and historical works is very important and sensitive, but care must be taken that the determination of this area does not cause disruptions in business and people’s livelihood.
Referring to the importance of the protection of cultural and historical monuments and places, attracting people’s participation, and giving space to the private sector under the supervision of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts, the President considered it a suitable way to compensate for the lack of manpower in this sector.
Approving the plan of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage to develop thousands of museums, President Raisi highlighted that this measure will make the discovered historical and cultural works that are symbols of the rich and ancient history and civilization of the Iranian nation, instead of remaining in warehouses, be exposed to the public and especially to the young generation.
The President considered it important to introduce the cultural and historical heritage of the country and said, “Make the people and the young generation acquainted with the rich and ancient history of the country by using knowledgeable guides with exciting and proud narratives of the cultural heritage to convey great cultural concepts in this way”.
Referring to the tourism department of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts, Raisi stated that the prosperity of the tourism industry activates the tourism economy, and in addition to the significant financial turnover and great potential for creating employment, there is also a huge cultural burden.
Emphasizing the existence of many capacities for the number of foreign tourists to reach 15 million people per year, the President stated that family-oriented tourism, abolition of tourist visas with target states, facilitation and support of private sector investment in the tourism sector by granting loans and facilities, are amongst the necessary measures for the development and prosperity of tourism.
Emphasizing the necessity of reforming the process of investing in tourism, the President urged the tourism officials to support applicants in this sector, not just by granting licenses, but by removing obstacles until they reach the point of exploitation.
The President considered the capabilities of the country in the fields of health, huge and unique factories in large industries, as well as the existence of special geographical areas such as the Hormuz Islands, Ashuradeh, and Makoran coasts as having very suitable capacities for creating special tourism and nature tourism areas.
The President further mentioned the missions of the handicraft sector of this ministry and emphasized the slogan “Every house is a workshop” and said, “According to reports, more than 70% of the people involved in the handicraft sector are women, and a large number of them are also heads of households”.
President Raisi also described the plan of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism, and Handicrafts to increase the number of handicrafts markets from the current 500 to a thousand markets as a worthy target.
At the beginning of his speech, the President congratulated the tourism week and thanked the hard workers of this sector, and said, “Considering that the tourism sector was one of the sectors that suffered the most from the spread of coronavirus, it is necessary that now after the spread of this disease has been contained, these sectors are supported to compensate for its losses”.
At the beginning of his visit to the National Museum of Iran, President Raisi visited different parts of this museum.
Raisi during his visit to the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts:
The survival of cultural and historical works depends on their proper and appropriate use
The President considered it important to introduce the cultural and historical heritage of the country and said, “Make the people and the young generation acquainted with the rich and ancient history of the country by using knowledgeable guides with exciting and proud narratives of the cultural heritage to convey great cultural concepts in this way”.
Source: Islamic Republic News Agency – IRNA
