Iran pushes to transform its tourism hub into cultural engine
Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Tourism, and Handicrafts Ministry began restructuring its Investment and Economic Affairs Center on Monday, with Minister Reza Salehi-Amiri vowing to embed the unit at the heart of national efforts to revive tourism and cultural heritage.
In a meeting with senior officials of the ministry, Salehi-Amiri laid out a three‑phase roadmap. The first stage focuses on setting firm foundations, organizational structure, human resources, and financial capacity, IRNA reported.
Once these are in place, the ministry will draft a ten‑year master strategy to steer investment toward cultural tourism, heritage restoration and regional handicraft industries. The final phase, he said, will mobilize resources and launch concrete projects from next year.
“The first task,” he told ministry staff, “is to build a solid base. Without that there can be no leap forward.” He made clear the new center must evolve into “a full‑fledged deputy‑level body”, a flagship branch overseeing all tourism and heritage investment efforts.
Salehi-Amiri acknowledged the steep constraints on government budgets, so far only 12% of allocations have been disbursed, and insisted the ministry must tap private capital, regional funds and the offices of governors and local representatives. It is, he argued, the “only viable route” to revive cultural tourism across Iran’s provinces.
He described this revamp as more than institutional change. It marks a shift toward long‑term planning, strategic execution and professionalism. “Our success today rests on skilled experts,” he said. “We must prepare proposals, business plans and funding bids now, so we hit the ground running with the next big project.”