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
