Aref: We have a serious problem in tourism infrastructure

The ceremony of honoring and introducing the former and new Ministers of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts was held today, Wednesday, 28th of Shahrivar, in the Hall of Hajj and Ziarat.

Mohammadreza Aref, the first vice president, in the ceremony of honoring and introducing the former and new ministers of cultural heritage, tourism and handicrafts, while congratulating the week of unity, said:

The key to following the revolution was unity, and the key to the progress of the Islamic Republic of Iran is the unity of all together.

While appreciating the efforts and activities of Engineer Zarghami in the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts, he added that the new minister is one of the prominent cultural figures of the country.

Cultural heritage is a symbol of Iran’s rich civilization and it is a trust in the hands of this generation that must be entrusted to the next generation through restoration and restoration.

Aref pointed out that cultural heritage is national pride and one of the outstanding cultural indicators of the country.

Cultural heritage has always been respected inside and outside of Iran, and this is due to the precious works of our country in this field.

The first vice president emphasized that the work done in the Ministry of Cultural Heritage is valuable and stated:

After this, it is necessary to consider pathologies and a deep strategy, because we are still facing fundamental challenges in some cases.

Stating that the formulation of strategies and policies of this sector at the beginning of the 7th development plan is an opportunity that should be seized, he said:

In the two fields of handicrafts and tourism, the government’s tenure should be reduced. The government’s actions should be facilitating and helping, and the main burden should be on the private sector. Affairs should be followed and carried out based on the two axes of cultural heritage and handicrafts. We have outstanding capacities in the field of tourism, based on a clear analysis of two decades ago, the tourists who come to Iran are cultural tourists. If we pay minimal attention to the tourism sector, we can have 100,000 stable job opportunities every year, the task of the parliament is less than this number.

He said:

They created a mindset for Iran-phobia that is not real. If they stay in Iran for two days and see the hospitality, facilities, and peace, they will yearn for Iran and their mentality will change. The fact is that we have a serious problem in the field of infrastructure, there are no rest stops on the roads. These points can be seen at a distance of 50 kilometers. Do we want to accept tourists then? The beginning of the government coincided with the beginning of the program. This is a good thing. Our approach is job creation. The contribution of tourism and crafts in the growth of cultural diplomacy is important to me.

The first vice president continued:

One of the priorities of diplomacy is in the region, maybe in many places we cannot use this tool to approach countries, but handicrafts are one of Iran’s prides, many countries knew Iran with handicrafts at least until before the revolution. A good trend should be added in the next four years. A report of illegal excavations reaches us. The lack of attention to cultural heritage tempts some people to turn curiosity into economic sense, and then we know what happens. According to the plan, 950 immovable works should be restored and restored every year.

He addressed Salehi Amiri and said:

In the sphere of governance, it is not possible to advance the work only with the help of government resources, it is necessary to get help from the private sector as well. The expectation of the private sector from us is that the government does not hinder the work, if there are rulings or notes that are hindering, they should be corrected.