By NNN-Bernama,
Kuala Lumpur : Iran is seeking Malaysia’s expertise in developing its tourism industry back home, Malaysian Tourism Minister Azalina Othman Said said Tuesday.
To this end, the minister urged the private sector in Malaysia to undertake more joint ventures with their Iranian counterparts.
D-8 countries should also find ways to boost the industry among themselves, she told reporters on the sidelines of the Sixth Summit of the Group of Eight Islamic Developing Countries (D-8) here.
Earlier, Azalina had a brief discussion with some of the Iranian officials from its tourism ministry who were part of Teheran’s delegation to the summit.
Iran, which is located on the northeastern shore of the Persian Gulf, has about one million tourism destinations and sites, which present a huge potential for the industry to expand further.
She said Iran has always used Malaysia as an example in promoting the tourism industry with specific well-coordinated plans.
Last year, about 27,000 tourists from Iran visited Malaysia, she said.
Iran recently lifted its visa requirements for citizens of D-8 member countries in efforts to beef up its tourism industry.
Presently, visitors from D-8 nations are required to obtain visas on arrival.