On June 30, the Iranian government authorized the Iranian Foreign Ministry to formulate specific policies for visa free services for Chinese tourists. Ali Asgar Munesen, Vice President of Iran and Chairman of the Cultural Heritage, Handicraft and Tourism Organization, said on July 2 that Iran welcomes Chinese tourists to Iran and hopes to attract 1 million Chinese tourists in the next four to five years.
On July 2, after the Iranian government announced that it would soon implement a visa free policy for Chinese tourists, the vice president in charge of Iran's tourism industry, Mohamed Munesen, was interviewed by Chinese media for the first time. He said that there are two main reasons why Iran chose China as the target country for visa free tourism this year: First, China and Iran have many similar historical cultures, and love of history and culture is one of the common characteristics of the two peoples; Second, the number of outbound tourists in China is huge. "China is a populous country with nearly 150 million outbound tourists. Therefore, we list China as a country of major concern, and we also strive to facilitate Chinese tourists to Iran. Last year, we granted visa free to a country. This year, the government agreed to the proposal of the Iranian cultural heritage, handicrafts and tourism organization and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and decided to visit Iran without obtaining a visa for people with Chinese nationality to visit our natural and historical attractions. We have set a target number, hoping that the number of Chinese tourists visiting Iran will reach 1 million in four to five years, and then hope to reach 2 million. "
Munesen said that the Iranian government attaches great importance to the development of the tourism industry, which is expected to become a new economic growth point in Iran soon. In order to attract more tourists to Iran, the government has taken many measures, including issuing electronic visas to foreign tourists several years ago. He said that the biggest feature of tourism in Iran is that Iran has a long history of thousands of years and has a strong sense of history and culture. "Most foreign tourists, whether from Europe, Asia or the United States, are mainly attracted by our history and culture. Our biggest advantage is that we have a long history. For example, Iran has a large number of museums with various forms and unique styles, and unparalleled historical sites, such as Yazid, Isfahan, Kashan, Shiraz and other historic cities. We rank among the top ten in the number of UN world heritage sites, and we have 23 UN world heritage sites. The World Tourism Organization also lists Iran as one of the ten countries with the richest tourism resources in the world. In addition, our natural landscape is rich and diverse. There are waters in the north and south, the Caspian Sea in the north, and the Persian Gulf in the south. There are rich coastal and water tourism resources. Moreover, because we have high-end medical equipment and superb medical technology in the Middle East, health tourism is also one of our characteristics. "
Due to the high tension between Iran and the United States and the still great pressure of US sanctions, many foreign tourists are worried about the safety of traveling in Iran. Munesen said that the most important concern of foreign tourists is security. Iran has a very safe tourism environment. Both the police, security departments and even the hospitable Iranian people attach great importance to building a safe tourism environment for tourists. Iran can be said to be at least one of the safest countries in the Middle East, "At present, many conflicts in the world are due to mutual ignorance. Tourism is the best way to introduce your rich culture to others. Iran is a country with a long history and culture, and tourism is an opportunity for Iran to introduce itself to the world. Especially in the face of false reports on Iran by western media, tourism can let people all over the world see Iran's true face. "
Munesen also said that the Iranian government is willing to strengthen tourism exchanges and cooperation with China in the "Belt and Road" initiative and play a more important role in the "Belt and Road" initiative, "We are very interested in playing a more important role in the 'Belt and Road' initiative, especially in the field of tourism, so we are also strengthening ties with China's tourism sector, hoping to visit China as soon as possible and sign a memorandum of understanding on the development of tourism between the two countries. In short, the 'Belt and Road' initiative is very important. China and Iran have good trade relations, but there is still a lack of data on tourism. Therefore, the development of tourism is now one of our new goals. "
(Lei Xiangping and Li Huizhong from China Central Radio and Television Corporation) |
