Italy and Iran have restarted their collaboration on the cultural tourism project after the interruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. The collaboration in this field between the two countries started in 2019 from the initiative of the Italian Embassy and the ICE Office in Tehran, in collaboration with the Italian Alliance of Cooperatives and the Iranian Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and of Handicraft. The operational phase resumed its course with a round table that was held on June 8 at the residence of the Italian Ambassador in Tehran, Giuseppe Perrone.
The event, which took place both online and face-to-face – in the garden of the Italian residence – saw the participation of the Italian speakers from the Alliance of Italian Tourism and Cultural Heritage Cooperatives, the Italian Association of Responsible Tourism and Cooperative Popular Culture and Iranian speakers from the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Crafts, the Iranian Center for Archaeological Research and the Iranian Chamber of Cooperatives.
At the center of the meeting is responsible tourism and its niche sectors: historical-cultural and health tourism, the use of social media and new ICT technologies for the preservation and enhancement of cultural heritage, the training of human resources and the development of new tourism marketing strategies. Ambassador Perrone recalled, in his introductory speech, the existing collaboration between the two countries in the archaeological and rural development sectors, indicating the two as strategically successful in strengthening the tourism sector.
The participants in the round table then focused on the Iranian mission in Italy, to learn more about Italian practices in the sector and visit some tourist sites in our country, and the start of the pilot project in Iran concerning the golden triangle of Khuzestan, which includes the renowned UNESCO sites of Susa, Shushtar and Changa Zanbol. To develop the already existing partnerships between tourism and economic development, the involvement of Italian and Iranian cooperatives is fundamental, just as it is equally important to provide impetus to the application of the latest generation technologies for the preservation and enhancement of the cultural heritage of the two countries.
