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Create Iran’s Literary Tourism Opportunities / Renowned Authors at Book Fair Attract Tourists
1403/02/25-16:26
A tourism industry expert emphasized the importance of activating literary tourism in Iran, stating that publicizing the presence of many popular and renowned authors and major publishers can attract tourists to the book fair, which is a significant cultural event in the country.
According to the press office of the 35th Tehran International Book Fair, the session on "The Status of Literary Tourism" was held on the morning of Wednesday, May 15, at the "Literature Hall" of the book fair, with presence of literary tourism expert Arash Nouraaghai and cultural tourism activist Akbar Rezvanian.
Nouraaghai discussed literary tourism in Iran, highlighting that tourism is based on nature and culture. He stated, "The concept of 'literary tourism' was first introduced in Iran in 2013 with a conference. Literary tourism is a subset of cultural tourism and specifically manifests in three forms: real places, imaginary places, and human-made locations."
He added, "Real places include the homes of literary figures, their tombs, and similar sites; imaginary places relate to locations emerging from stories. For instance, Nezami's 'Haft Peykar' includes such places, and in world literature, many such places have been created and are popular with tourists, like the address of Sherlock Holmes's house, which is one of the most visited places in the world despite not actually existing."
One Thousand and One Nights" Has Literary Tourism Potential
This literary tourism expert introduced Iran as a country with many resources for literary tourism and added, "We have weak tourism attractions but rich tourism resources. We need to transform our resources into tourist attractions. For example, the story 'A Thousand and One Nights' has high potential for literary tourism in Iran, yet we have not developed it, and Baghdad has presented itself as the city of 'A Thousand and One Nights.'"
Rich Iranian Literature for Tourism
Nouraaghai, in part of his speech, identified the lack of attention to "literary tourism" in Iranian media as one of the weaknesses in promoting literary tourism. He continued, "We have exquisite and rich literature, yet we have not utilized it in its rightful place to develop literary tourism."
Referring to the geography in contemporary and classic Iranian stories, he said, "In the book 'The Myth of Tehran' by Jalal Sattari, the notion of Tehran as a myth is critically examined. The author focused on the issue of the lack of structure in Tehran, and understanding such issues requires accurate comprehension."
Attracting Five Million Tourists to a Statue in Copenhagen
Nouraaghai, a literary tourism expert, mentioned Hans Christian Andersen's novel "The Little Mermaid" and the tourism opportunity it created, stating, "A small mermaid statue associated with the story 'The Little Mermaid' in Copenhagen attracts five million tourists annually from around the world. In our contemporary literary history, we have books and stories that can create high literary tourism potential—from Sohrab Sepehri's works to many diverse works and even those by unknown authors that can make Iranian cities famous and attract tourists. These must be identified."
Making Tehran a "Creative City of Literature
Regarding the vision of Tehran as a "Creative City of Literature," Nouraaghai said, "Literary tourism always sparks creativity, and with the book fair and attention to all its literary attractions, Tehran can become a 'Creative City of Literature.'"
Discussing the tourism potential of the "Tehran International Book Fair," he said, "I think we need to create meaning; we have many hidden meanings. We are a meaning-oriented society. It is good to create space and opportunities related to this at the book fair. The role of literature in introducing society to the world is very important and influential. Meaning can be created for each publisher and author present at the fair, and all capacities should be used to promote the book fair and attract tourists."
Renowned Authors Also Attract Tourists
Akbar Rezvanian, a tourism activist, continued the discussion on tourist guides and literary tourism, stating, "The presence of many popular and renowned contemporary authors in past years has attracted tourists, and it is good to pay attention to this aspect of this significant cultural event."
He added, "The issue of tourism economy and peripheral economy at the book fair can create book fair tourism tours, and these capacities must be properly developed."
Citing examples of attractions at major international book fairs, he added, "Attention to attractions at major international book fairs is significant and affects the presence of audiences and tourists."
This tourism and ecotourism activist, in response to a question about literary tourism and its relation to ecotourism, said, "In Isfahan, a house where the film 'Majid's Tales' was produced has been turned into an ecotourism site. Similar examples exist in literary and cultural ecotourism. In recent years, such places have been revived. It is good to focus on specialized tourism branches alongside the development of tourism in its macro context."
The 35th Tehran International Book Fair, under the slogan "We Read, We Build," will be held from May 8 to May 18, 2024, at the Imam Khomeini Mosalla in person and on the ketab.ir platform.
