Iran pushes creative, AI-first tourism advertising
Iran's Deputy Tourism Minister, Anoushirvan Mohseni-Bandpei, put a clear stake in the ground: use AI, fresh creative techniques, and digital tools to win global attention. At the poster unveiling for the International Tourism Content Production Festival, he called content the primary driver for attracting foreign visitors-and advertising spend an investment, not a cost.
His message to marketers and creators was straightforward: show Iran's tourism strengths with quality and speed on international platforms. Budgets are tight, but precision and better presentation convert.
What this means for creatives
- Content is the product: The destination that tells its story best gets the bookings.
- AI isn't optional: Use it for ideation, translation, personalization, and versioning at scale.
- Distribution beats perfection: Timely, platform-fit content outperforms slow, overproduced pieces.
- Treat media spend as ROI: Test, learn, and double down on what performs.
Signals from the event
- Tourism potential must be packaged for international audiences with quality and speed.
- More budget is needed to reach foreign markets, supported by a "scientific" approach to content and channels.
- Recognition matters: Soheili (Qeshm), Shafiabad (Kerman), and Kandelous (Mazandaran) were added to the United Nations tourism list of standout villages-momentum worth amplifying. See the Best Tourism Villages program by the UNWTO here.
- Public-private collaboration is growing, with an emphasis on using community-created content for global reach.
- Islamic Azad University of Yazd announced a new tourism faculty, with plans to expand into postgraduate education-more talent, more output.
Action plan: Build content that travels
- Map the hooks: Identify 10-20 storylines per destination (craft, food, nature, heritage, festivals, stays, routes).
- Create modular assets: Shoot vertical shorts, carousels, and micro-articles that can be remixed across platforms.
- AI workflow: Use AI to draft scripts, translate subtitles, localize captions, generate thumbnails, and produce alt versions for A/B tests.
- UGC pipeline: Invite locals and travelers to submit clips; curate, credit, and distribute through official channels.
- International formatting: Optimize for YouTube Shorts, Instagram, TikTok, and travel forums; maintain brand kits and subtitle presets.
- Measure what matters: Track saves, shares, watch time, click-throughs, and off-platform conversions (DMs, bookings, inquiries).
- Spend with intent: Small, frequent boosts to winners > one big push. Always retarget engagers with itinerary-based offers.
Suggested AI stack (simple, effective)
- Ideation and scripting: draft multiple angles; keep one-line hooks punchy.
- Localization: fast translation, cultural tweaks, and voiceover cloning where licensed.
- Visuals: AI-assisted image cleanup, color grading, and B-roll generation to fill gaps.
- Rights and metadata: auto-generate titles, descriptions, tags, and creator credits.
- Optimization: A/B-test thumbnails, hooks, and first 3 seconds; iterate weekly.
Community-first marketing
Moslem Shojaei, the Tourism Ministry's director-general for marketing and foreign tourism development, called out a gap: too much commercial content, not enough from people on the ground. The fix is to publish community-made content across international social networks through partnerships that make curation and rights simple.
Mohseni-Bandpei also pointed to a global spotlight: the President noted the recognition of Soheili, Shafiabad, and Kandelous-calling Iran a land of art and bravery. That pride needs packaging into repeatable story kits that creators everywhere can use.
For creators ready to scale with AI
If you want a fast way to upskill and build repeatable workflows for tourism campaigns, explore curated AI courses by role here. Keep your stack lean and focused on output you can publish this week.
Bottom line: Make better stories, ship them faster, and spend behind what proves itself. The opportunity is there-the teams that execute with focus will win attention and bookings.
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