‘Ardabil 2023’ event to open today
The event of ‘Ardabil 2023’ will begin its programs today, said Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Tourism, and Handicrafts Minister Ezzatollah Zarghami.
“In fact, it is the beginning of a year of efforts to introduce Ardabil tourist attractions and promote the province on an international scale,” he added.
In 2019, Ardabil, along with Sari, the capital of Mazandaran Province, were selected as the tourism capitals of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) for 2022 and 2023, respectively.
Tourism capacities, historical attractions and handicrafts of Ardabil all make the province distinguished at the national and global level, Zarghami noted.
It is necessary to make the most of the opportunity to introduce the province internationally and to build infrastructure in the province, the minister said.
Stating that the Republic of Azerbaijan was the second country to bring tourists to Iran in the past few years, closing land borders, especially the Bileh Savar border crossing, created some problems for Azerbaijani tourists willing to visit Iran.
A total of 1,200 tourists arrive in Iran annually through this border, he said, expressing hope that the problem would be resolved as soon as possible.
The minister also proposed providing unfiltered SIM cards for foreign tourists to get minimum services.
It is possible that our domestic messaging platforms could also be activated at the international level, he said.
He concluded that every single opportunity must be seized to promote Iran’s tourism industry.