I'm not making this up!
By: Jabbar Fazeli, MD
Ettelaat newspaper published this news article his morning. I double checked, the article really says "tourism", not "terrorism".
Below is an unedited version:
MONDAY. Dec. 10.2012
Iran wants to promote ties with world nations through tourism
President Ahmadinejad:
TEHRAN - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Saturday that Tehran cares more for the cultural aspects of tourism than its economic aftermaths as it is willing to boost relations with the world nations by this means.
\"The cultural effect of tourism are more important to us than its economic impacts,\" Ahmadinejad said.
He then reiterated that relations and interactions among different cultures and nations in the world are more important than financial aftermaths of tourism, saying, \"The economic aftermaths of tourism are inferior to its cultural effects, and we regard relations among nations as to be more important than its (tourism) economic effects,\" FNA reported.
Iran has taken different concrete measures so far to introduce its tourist attractions to foreigners and expand cultural relations with the world countries.
Last year the Iranian Students Tourism and Traveling Agency (ISTTA) launched a new tourism website to provide users with information about the country\'s stunning tourism attractions.
The website was launched in the hope that it could be used as an authentic source for international tourists to become acquainted with countless natural, religious, historical and cultural attractions of Iranian cities.
Users can easily get access to the information categorized on the website in English, Arabic and Persian. They can also get the latest news and events related to each city and destination as well as books and articles about Iran and Iranian studies.
The website is affiliated with the Academic Center for Education, Culture, and Research (ACECR) and can be visited at istta.ir.
Photo soource: tolonews.com, Ketknbc.com, gq.com, http://blog.ale.com.pk
6 comments:
What is so wrong about these news according to your thoughts, Jabbar?
I can tell you right off the bat that you are mistaken if you believe that Tourism has anything to do with the judicial system in Iran. Tourism is a separate matter altogether. US has Guantanamo detention camp yet it hasn't stopped them from promoting its tourism. And the same thing can be said of many other, in your view, so called "civilized nations", of the world.
Anon 7:55 AM
You are mistaken,tourism can be very much effected by the so called "judicial system"in Iran.
What happens when a tourist and their children are walking down the street in Tehran or any city in that country,when they bump into a public hanging curtsy of a local builders crane?
What happens when they see people being arrested for not wearing proper attire in the streets?
Comparing Guantanamo detention camp to a huge prison like Iran with 75 million prisoners is very stupid and frankly is a sort of thing a lackey of the regime would say.
@anon 7:55
I thought that the reasons would be self evident. A year or so ago the Iranian government wanted to solve the lack of tourists issue by trying to pass "laws" that force tourist agent to bring one tourist for each Iranian tourist leaving the country.
Tourism doesn't happen because you wish it or because you have great majestic places to visit. Tourists want a safe and fun experience when they travel; Iran is simply struggling in both categories.
Here are a few reasons:
-Iran has institutional discrimination against women traveling without male companions. In fact Iranian women themselves can't even get a passport without a male guardian consent until the age of 40, according to the latest IR laws coming out of majlis.
-tourists from certain countries require minders, just like the case of North Korea, and we all now how tourism is flourishing in that country.
-the lack of due process means that tourists are at the mercy of the Iranian "judiciary".
-dual citizens can't benefit from their embassy protection because the law negates any other citizenships if the person has Iranian heritage.
I could go on (and capitalize everything), but then I would turn into a liberal version of our very own BMA.
Iran needs to fix up its international image before they can start attracting more tourists. The regime may be undemocratic, but nothing in the world beats good PR (something the regime completely lacks). They should also get rid of the mandatory hijab laws (or at least give tourists an exemption).
Nevertheless, surprisingly I've seen a few non-Iranians visit Iran (including women). Also this article also explains a lot about the issue. http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2012-11-05/world/35505196_1_china-and-germany-iran-and-force-number-of-foreign-tourists
Realistically, it's highly unlikely that a tourist would see a public execution unless they actually went searching for one. It may happen more frequently in Iran than in other countries, but the odds of simply walking upon one is very low IMHO.
And unless a tourist start screaming anti-government rhetoric in the middle of the street, or snoops/takes repeated pictures of sensitive locations, they will probably be treated well IMHO. The regime want more tourists, so they'll bend backwards for those who visit.
The only way Iran can fix its international image is by getting rid of the barbaric theocracy.
If the regime dumps the mandatory hijab laws then that will be the death of the regime.Because that is the single thing that the regime relies on to oppress the people with.
And if foreigners are allowed not to wear hijab,then that will make Iranian women into second class citizens.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeLbna3edBQ --- Medical tourism in Iran.
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