Iran demonstrated two community-based tourism projects as examples of sustainable and climate-resilient tourism during the 27th COMCEC Tourism Working Group meeting, held in Ankara on September 16 and 17.
Representatives from member states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), international organizations, the private sector, and non-governmental organizations gathered at this meeting to study the impact of climate change on tourism and discuss strategies to enhance the resilience of tourist destinations.
The Iranian national representative and COMCEC contact person, Bita Sadeghzadeh, highlighted the effects of climate change on tourism in OIC member countries. According to a report by Mehr news agency, these impacts include rising temperatures, decreased precipitation, prolonged droughts, and changes in seasonal cycles.
She noted that such changes are placing increasing pressure on natural, coastal, and desert areas, underscoring the need to revise tourism development policies.
Sadeghzadeh singled out the villages of Soheili on Heshm Island and Shafiyabad in Kerman as exemplary Iranian cases. Both villages were included in the UNESCO list of best tourist villages in 2025.
Soheili, located near the mangrove forests of Heshm, aims to link tourism development with environmental protection through local community involvement, particularly engaging women and youth. Measures implemented there include using quieter boats, planting about 200,000 mangrove saplings annually, and establishing over 40 eco-hotels. According to the Iranian presentation, these initiatives have provided direct employment for nearly 940 people.
In Shafiyabad, which is near the Lut Desert, a women's group has directed part of its handicraft income towards restoring drying canals (qanats), thereby linking tourism with water resource management, nature conservation, and women's economic empowerment.
Sadeghzadeh emphasized that significant community participation, active ecosystem protection, the use of local architecture and materials, and directing a portion of tourism revenue toward preservation can offer valuable approaches for other OIC countries.
The meeting is expected to lead to the development of policy recommendations for consideration at the 42nd COMCEC Ministerial Session. COMCEC is the Permanent Committee for Economic and Trade Cooperation of the OIC, headquartered in Ankara.