Attending the opening ceremony of the food festival, the official said that food is a door towards national and regional culture adding “food displays the culture of the region’s people which is indeed attractive for tourists as well.”
“People like to taste different and healthy food nowadays which can lead to expanding food industry.” he added.
Noting that food can hold a significant role in marketing, economy and culture, he said “The economic cultural filed can develop with adding competition and diversity to the healthy food industry.”
Hayri Maraslioglu also said: “Nowadays some 30 percent of travelling expenditure is allocated to food which makes it a great field for investing.”
In other news, on the sidelines of the festival, the official talked about the beauties of Iran and its potentials for developing. He believes that the country needs to be more modern and complete its substructures in order to boost and flourish its tourism.
By exploring tourism opportunities and introducing it to other countries, ECO can be effective in developing the member counties, he added.
The First ECO-Silk Road Food Festival, hosted by Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization will wrap up on Sept. 4 in Zanjan.
The festival is expected to attract local, national and international visitors and food fans. It provides a unique opportunity for Silk Road countries and the member states of Economic Cooperation Organization, particularly ECO’s embassies in Tehran, to share their food culture with visitors and display their local dishes.
ECO is a Eurasian political and economic intergovernmental organization founded in 1985 in Tehran by the leaders of Iran, Pakistan and Turkey. By the fall of 1992, ECO expanded to include seven new members: Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.