Aras Free Trade Zone Joins UN Tourism as Affiliate Member
WANA (Nov 15) – At the UN Tourism General Assembly held in Riyadh, the Aras Free Trade Zone Organization was officially approved as an Affiliate Member of the global tourism body.
The organization’s Managing Director announced that during a major international event—on the sidelines of the 26th UN Tourism General Assembly and the 124th Executive Council meeting held on November 8 in the Saudi capital—the Aras Free Trade Zone was formally granted membership in UN Tourism.
Hadi Moghadamzadeh described the accession as a significant milestone for showcasing Iran’s tourism potential on the global stage. He noted that with this approval, the Aras Free Trade Zone has joined the world’s most reputable institutions in the tourism sector as a destination-management organization under the Affiliate Members category, marking the start of its formal cooperation with UN Tourism, the industry’s highest international authority.
Highlighting the positive implications of the membership, Moghadamzadeh emphasized that UN Tourism plays a central role in improving tourism standards and infrastructure, especially in developing countries.
This affiliation, he said, opens access to cutting-edge research, innovations, and best practices from both public and private sectors worldwide in areas such as strategic planning, international marketing, workforce training, and tourism promotion.
The Managing Director outlined several benefits of the new partnership: the ability to receive technical and advisory support from UN Tourism, participate in global platforms, engage directly with leading tourism stakeholders, and access the organization’s extensive digital library.
Additional advantages include hosting joint international events, increasing visibility among major travel agencies, facilitating foreign tourist arrivals, accessing updated global tourism statistics and reports, and joining UN Tourism’s specialized networks and working groups.
Moghadamzadeh added that this membership also enables active participation in global conferences and experience-sharing with other Affiliate Members—more than 500 leading institutions from the private sector, academia, and local authorities.
He noted that UN Tourism consists of 160 Member States, 6 Associate Members, and over 500 Affiliate Members from academic institutions, the private sector, and civil society, calling Aras’s presence in this distinguished network a source of pride.
It is worth noting that the Aras Free Trade Zone first obtained this membership in 2019, but the status was suspended for several years. Following recent efforts, its membership has now been fully and officially restored.
Aras Free Trade Zone Joins UN Tourism as Affiliate Member. Social media/ WANA News Agency
