TEHRAN – Iran’s deputy tourism chief has said that the social, wildlife, historical, cultural, and medical realms of tourism have been selected for the ongoing cooperation between Iran and the International Trade Centre (ITC) in the way of developing the national tourism export strategies for the Islamic Republic.
“Last year, we and the International Trade Centre started a joint corporation with the aim of developing the tourism industry of the country… and in this regard, realms of social, historical, cultural, health, and wildlife tourism have been selected for development of national exports [of the country],” Vali Teymouri said on Tuesday, CHTN reported.
Strategies to boost competitiveness [as an export sector], build value-addition and develop new markets and ways to maximize local economic are amongst goals the joint plan is to achieve with the close collaboration with the private investors and local communities, the official noted.
Experts say that an effective National Tourism Export Strategy (NTES) enables policy-makers, tourism and investment support institutions, and enterprises to make choices on key decision-points and to priorities. This, in turn, ensures that countries can optimize conditions for long-term tourism sustainability, and enhanced economic and social benefits.
“Tourism is trade. It involves the buying and selling of services and goods, with compensation paid by a buyer (the visitor) to a seller. Tourism is a source of foreign exchange earnings. It boosts country’s domestic output. It is subject to the rigors of the international marketplace. Most countries want to increase exports as a means of generating employment, increasing government revenue, and raising standards of living.
Many countries have export strategies, addressing a range of products and services, to boost competitiveness, build value-addition, and develop new markets. Most have tourism policy frameworks in place, supported by tourism master plans that aim to strengthen infrastructure, regulation, and institutions.”
Since the UNWTO General Assembly in Colombia in September 2015, ITC and UNWTO have entered a formal strategic partnership to build upon the two organizations’ resources and competencies and to share perspectives in the process of rethinking a joint approach to Aid for Trade (AfT) in tourism.
Established in 1964, the International Trade Centre is the joint agency of the World Trade Organization and the United Nations. It is a development agency that is fully dedicated to supporting the internationalization of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).