By
Soudabeh
Sadigh, S. Omid Arab, Ladan M. Sadeghioon
Iran enjoys enormous potentials for
attracting tourists which, due to weak advertising and lack of information
available about this country, have remained unknown for most foreigners, says
Prof. O'Gorman from University of Strathclyde, Glasgow.
Tehran, 4 March 2007 (CHN) --
Presenting a simple plan which he calls "The Prentice-O'Gorman Destination
Appraisal Matrix for Tourism" during the International Conference on Tourism in Islamic Countries held in Tehran, Dr. Kevin O'Gorman, professor of the
department of hospitality and tourism management in University of Strathclyde,
Glasgow, went over the factors considered by tourists when making a decision as
to where to travel.
O'Gorman, who has made 16 travels to Iran
during the past three years, believes that Iran enjoys enormous potentials for
attracting tourists which, due to weak advertising and lack of information
available about this country, have remained unknown for most foreigners.
Speaking with CHN regarding Iran's
integrated tourism plans, O'Gorman said: "Iran has wonderful tourism products
but first it is important to know what this market is. For example I know Kish
Island already has integrated tourism plans which are very
successful."
Referring to the traditional and cultural
attractions of most the Muslim countries, O'Gorman explained that the majority
of European and western tourists who come to Muslim and eastern countries are
seeking to see something new like some new values which have somehow disappeared
in their own countries. In this regard, O'Gorman said that he believes Islamic
countries should pay attention to the part of their tourism attractions that has
to do with their unique culture. According to him, Iran's archeology, cultural
heritage, traditions, and natural characteristics are the main factors which
attract foreigners to Iran.
According to O'Gorman, despite all tourism
attractions Iran has, it is unfortunate that the majority of Europeans are not
familiar with this country and do not have much idea about how traveling to Iran
would be like. This is partly caused by weak advertising.
As an expert in tourism studies, O'Gorman
believes that when a foreigner from a western country travels to Muslim
countries, he or she is seeking to see cultural attractions and is not looking
particularly for signs of modernism. "The choice is based on knowledge,
credibility, familiarity, feelings and affordability," he
said.
The matrix O'Gorman presented in the
conference for evaluating tourism destinations was combined with the USP model,
that is Unique Selling Points, which has turned into SSP (Standard Selling
Points) by using the traditional strategy based on strength, weakness,
opportunities, and threats.
He further mentioned that three factors are
considered by tourists when choosing a destination to travel to which include
tourism facilities, shopping, and whether he or she will enjoy the trip.
Therefore, he argued that there are three
main approaches that each country needs to take for attracting and satisfying
its tourists including: proper introduction of its tourism attractions through
publishing catalogues and introducing them through the internet, providing
tourists the chance to feel themselves in a real traditional atmosphere, and
preserving and introducing its traditional, historical, and cultural values
which is of the case in many Islamic countries.
Evaluating the tourism facilities in Iran
and its tourism infrastructures, O'Gorman said: "Visiting Pasargadae and the
tomb of Cyrus the Great (founder of the Achaemenid dynasty) was always one of my
dreams. However, when I went to the tomb of Cyrus the Great, although I was
impressed greatly by seeing the magnificence of the tomb itself, it was just the
tomb and nothing else, no coffee shop to take a rest and have a cup of tea, no
shop for buying souvenirs and post cards, nothing at all. This is while shopping
is one of the main factors in tourism income and one of the main attractions a
country can present to tourists."
Like many other foreigners who come to
Iran, O'Gorman said that he truly enjoyed Iran's archeological site, cultural
heritage and the hospitality of its people. "One of my interests is in cultural
heritage of Iran and I am fascinated by Iranians' hospitality," added O'Gorman.
He further commented that Iran should
facilitate visa issuance in order to increase the number of its tourists since
one of the reasons that has kept the number of tourists to Iran low is the
difficult task of obtaining Iran's visa. "As long as there are some problems for
traveling to Iran including getting visa, like many other countries, despite
having a rich culture and civilization, Iran does not receive large numbers of
tourists. Therefore, providing visa facilities would be beneficial. Iran has
wonderful products and could attract a large number of tourists once such
barriers are removed."
Following his speech, Professor O'Gorman
held a workshop in the conference in which some tourism attractions of Tehran as
the capital city of Iran were discussed at the presence of tourism experts and
journalists.
"The people of Tehran are one of the city's
major attractions - a fact many of them are not aware of. In Tehran we can see a
variety of people from different Iranian provinces who have migrated to this
mega city and that is interesting. They are also very hospitable to tourists"
said O'Gorman.
Drawing a comparison between Tehran and
other capital cities he has ever visited, O'Gorman said: "Tehran has one of the
cheapest ski resorts which offer high quality services when compared to other
capital cities I have been into."
He further referred to tourism potentials
Iran has for attracting tourists and urged Iranian policy makers to consider
planning a better advertising strategy to introduce Iran's attractions to the
world.
At the end, Prof. O'Gorman expressed hope
that with improving its advertising and marketing, Iran can take major steps for
promoting its tourism industry.
