Planning for tourist income is one of the most important programs of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts and one of the target countries in this area is Malaysia.
Malaysia can be a perfect example for other countries as far as it is a successful country in attracting tourists. Cooperating with such a country leads us to new experiences.
Mohammad Nizam ben Halimi, the first secretary of the embassy of Malaysia, during his visit to the 13th International Tourism Exhibition and the 33rd National Handicrafts Exhibition in Tehran, was interviewed by CHTN in the public relation department and lectured about Iran’s tourism potential:
What is your point of view about tourism Potential between Iran and Malaysia?
We have a lot of tourist to Iran, so your country is one of our main destinations in Asia, it also has a lot of attraction for us in the aspects of food, climate, culture, and people themselves.
According to Malaysian people does Iran seem safe for travel?
To most of them yes, they consider Iran as a safe and stable place for travel, they go without concern and I recommend them all to visit Iran.
How much do you know about Iran’s culture and tourism industry?
I don’t know a lot, but I know quiet enough and still learning. I know there are a lot of places and cities such as Shiraz, Esfahan, and Persepolis, even here in Tehran we can see so many touristic attractions. I once visited Yazd which is a beautiful desert city.
Most of the agencies plan for more than a week due to far destination, does your tourists concern that too?
Yes, they are, but we try to schedule couple of cities which is a win win situation for your country and our tourists.
At your point of view, do the recent political issues in middle east have an impact on our tourism industry?
I think the situation always can be improved and Iran can always promote its tourism industry, we still consider here as a tourism destination, because according to us it is safe and stable. We have a long history of cultural and tourism relationship, during which we have visitors from Iran and now we tend to send visitors to Iran.
By considering the combined tours, like Malaysia and Singapore, we want to cooperate with other Asian countries.
What is the role of this kind of exhibitions from your point of view?
It is a very good platform for countries like us to promote our tourism industry and also for you to show your own potentials.