UN Tourism and Shandong University Jointly Host an Online Tourism Marketing Training for the Islamic Republic of Iran
In partnership with:
Shandong University, Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts, and Tourism of the Islamic Republic of Iran
Context
On 11-13 August 2025, UN Tourism and the Shandong University of China hosted an online tourism marketing training for public and private tourism stakeholders of the Islamic Republic of Iran focused on how to attract the important Chinese tourism market.
From the role of culture in tourism marketing to marketing trends, strategies, tools and approaches tailored to the Chinese market, valuable practical insight was shared by Prof. KONG Haiyan, Prof. XIA Hui, and Dr. WANG Xiaoyan from Shandong University.
The online training was the first joint activity since UN Tourism travelled to Weihai in April 2025 to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Shandong University, one of China’s high-level universities listed in the “Double First-Class Initiative” released by the central government of China. With the MoU, both parties agreed to pursue common areas of work including the promotion of quality education and human capital development within the tourism sector; the exchange of technical expertise and the joint development of technical cooperation projects; and collaboration in the spheres of innovation, digital transformation and youth empowerment.
Highlights
According to UN Tourism’s barometer, international tourist arrivals increased by 5% in the first quarter of 2025 in comparison to 2024, with Asia and the Pacific (+13%) showing strong and stable growth rates. China’s outbound tourism sector was a prime driver behind such an increase. The number of outbound trips made by Chinese citizens in 2024 reached 146 million, approaching the level of 2019, with the youth – 30 years or below – being one of the main travel segments.
To cater to this hyper-connected generation, tourism stakeholders must be willing to operate within an environment characterized by individualized attention, personalized communications, and customized and co-created products and services. To achieve this in a way capable of aligning tools, messages and traveler interests was a central part of the training.
All participants agreed that Iran, a country home to outstanding heritage and gastronomy, is well-positioned to benefit from an increase in Chinese travelers, whereby a focus must be placed on raising awareness of the country within China through targeted and aligned promotional efforts, both online and offline.
Stay Tuned
UN Tourism and Shandong University will continue to cooperate in the implementation of technical projects, with a focus on improving tourism research, especially along the Silk Road, and in improving the skills of tourism officials from Member States on how to attract Chinese visitation to their destinations, so, stay tuned for more!
