Tapping Sea Potentials To Boost Iran Tourism

Tehran, Sept 30, IRNA - Iran borders seas in its northern and southern parts.The country’s marine potentials can be optimized by promoting sea sports and recreations. The appeal of coastal cities can also be increased by cleaning up the beaches, phasing out dilapidated boats and ships, and streamlining customs clearance. The sea has lots of opportunities for boosting tourism and generating jobs. Hamid Soleimani-Maqam, a senior official of Ian’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization, said the country could use the sea’s potentials to promote marine and coastal tourism, wrote Tuesday's edition of 'Iran Daily'. “Marine tourism could thrive through public participation and private investment,” he said. “It is not difficult to earn money from the sea and the coast. For example, imagine that a ship is stranded 150 meters off the coast. It could be turned into a marine restaurant.” Watch Officer Seyyed Mohammad Miri, who has graduated from Kharg Marine Science University, said he loves the sea very much. He lives with his family in Ramsar, Mazandaran province, due to his love for the sea. He dreams of becoming a captain in future, though it takes 15 years for a new graduate to become a captain. Miri said Kharg Island is warm and its potable water is secured via water purification and desalination systems. “It is painful for me to see that an Iranian ship with an Iranian staff is led by a foreign captain from Europe, India or Pakistan,” he said. You have heard the proverb, “His heart is like the sea.” It means that just like a sea, the person is patient and confronts bad things and bad behaviors with great understanding. The sea surely imparts this ability to people who go for it. When one works on a ship with people from various cultures for several months, he learns to be patient and understanding. Navigation involves problems such as seasickness. “When I started my job on sea, I lost 10 kg of my weight. I also couldn’t sleep well in the beginning. Currently, I am so adapted that I can have soup with the ship’s movements,” he said. Lately, investors have come forward to use the opportunities and potentials of Iranian marine and coastal tourism./end