Global media should visit Iran to fight Iranophobia
Iran’s Minister of Tourism, Ezzatollah Zarghami, on Sunday highlighted the need to invite global mainstream media to visit Iran in order to broadcast the country’s realities to the world as a means of fighting Iranophobia.
“In order to combat Iranophobia and promote the Islamic Revolution, we have no other way except for the world and even some biased media from abroad to come and see inside Iran” Zarghami told a group of businesspeople involved in the travel and tourism industry.
Zarghami hailed travel agencies as the forefront of tourism, saying their actions hold great value in terms of culture and economics.
Despite the challenges faced by the industry, the minister said he saw great potential for growth for Iran in emerging markets such as Russia and China.
The Nowruz holiday saw a surge in domestic tourism in Iran, with high-level accommodation centers recording strong occupancy rates. However, Zarghami expressed concern over lower-level accommodation facilities reporting a decrease in hotel occupancy rates, despite the increase in the number of tourists.
He noted that tourism should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their financial status, and called for the tourism industry to address this issue by making cheaper accommodation options available to middle and lower-middle-class tourists.