Tehran – October 28 2024
The Economic Cooperation Organization convened a virtual meeting to discuss updates to the selection criteria for the prestigious “ECO Tourism Capital” initiative, which annually highlights a city from ECO Member States for its historical, cultural, and tourism potential. The meeting was attended by the representatives of the tourism authorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the Republic of Türkiye and the Republic of Uzbekistan and was chaired by the ECO Secretariat.
Mr. Jasur Rajabov, Director for Tourism at the ECO Secretariat, while opening the meeting, emphasized the initiative’s alignment with the goals of ECO Vision 2025 for sustainable development and enhanced regional integration through tourism. The delegates then assessed each criterion, focusing on the alignment of the initiative with ECO’s values of heritage preservation, inclusivity, and sustainable tourism practices.
Introduced in 2019, the ECO Tourism Capital initiative aims to celebrate the cultural heritage and natural beauty of cities within the ECO region. Each year, a selected city will receive the ECO Tourism Capital designation, providing it with regional visibility and opportunities to attract tourism-related investment, strengthen local economies, and improve infrastructure. Currently city of Shahrisabz in Uzbekistan holds the title which will be taken over by city of Erzurum in Türkiye in 2025.
