Organized by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the conference aimed at promoting rural tourism and finding new ways to empower villagers through generating jobs as the UNWTO has designated 2020 as the Year of Tourism and Rural Development.

Promoting and developing rural tourism in collaboration with the private sector and consulting with domestic and foreign experts are on the agenda of the tourism ministry, ISNA quoted the deputy tourism minister, Vali Teymouri, as saying on Sunday.

Iranian villages are considered as treasures of national and indigenous customs and subcultures of different Iranian ethnic groups, and each has at least one outstanding feature so that it can be considered as a tourist attraction, the official added.

He also noted that developing rural tourism could slow down the process of depopulation of villages and cause reverse migration while preserving culture and customs through job creation.

Having a very diverse natural setting, Iran offers varied excursions to nature lovers. Sightseers may live with a nomad or rural family or enjoy an independent stay. The country is home to abundant historical mansions, caravanserais, bathhouses, madrasas, and other massive monuments, which can buttress its budding tourism and hospitality sectors if managed appropriately and refurbished properly.

The World Tourism Organization sees rural tourism as a type of activity in which the visitor’s experience is related to a wide range of products generally linked to nature-based activities, agriculture, rural lifestyle, culture, angling, and sightseeing. Such tourism also possesses characteristics such as low population density, a landscape dominated by agriculture and forestry, as well as traditional social structure and lifestyle.