4m Tourists Visited Iran In 2012

Tehran, Dec 8, IRNA – Deputy Head of the Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization for tourism affairs Morteza Rahmani Movahed said on Friday that Iran hosted about four million foreign tourists in 2012. Addressing the eighth ministerial tourism conference of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), in Banjul, Gambia, Movahed highlighted importance of tourism industry in creating jobs, generating income, eradicating poverty and establishing peace and security. The Gambia hosted the eighth Islamic conference of OIC tourism ministers at the Kairaba Beach Hotel from December 4-6. The meeting, seeking to boost tourism in OIC member states, brought together tourism ministers from OIC member states and representatives of relevant OIC institutions and relevant regional and international organizations, among others. The conference examined the implementation of the OIC Framework for Development and Cooperation in the domain of tourism among OIC member states, in the light of the report of the Coordination Committee on facilitation and promotion of tourism in OIC member states. The participating ministers also considered, among other issues, a Draft Mechanism and Criteria for selection of OIC City of Tourism and the Draft Mechanism and Criteria for the award of OIC Seal of Excellence for Handicrafts. Other issues on the conference agenda included the establishment of the OIC City of Tourism for Islamic countries and development of health tourism. The introduction of the OIC City of Tourism Award is aimed at galvanizing intra-OIC activities in an identified city, thereby developing the socio-economic potentials of the city in question, while scaling up intra-OIC trade in goods and services./end