The 1^st ECO High Level Expert Group (HLEG) Meeting on Tourism was held on 11 – 13 December 2006 in Tehran hosted by the Islamic Republic of Iran. Delegates from Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kyrgyz, Pakistan, Republic of Tajikistan, Turkey, Uzbekistan, the ECO Secretariat as well as ECO Cultural Institute (ECI) attended the Meeting.

H.E. Esfandiar Rahim Mashaee, Vice President and Head of the Iran Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization inaugurated the meeting.  Mr. Mustafa Demirzen, ECO Deputy Secretary General made a statement.  H.E. Dr. Mohammad Sharif Malekzadeh, Deputy for Tourism Affairs, Iran Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization also spoke on the occasion.

Delegates delivered country reports regarding the status of tourism in their countries. They also discussed various issues relating to tourism including Promotion of private sector in the field of tourism, Simplification of visa procedures for tourists and Periodic publication of ECO Tourism Guidebook by ECI (ECO Cultural Institute) in coordination with the private sector.

The meeting decided that ECI would prepare the ECO Tourism Guidebook in collaboration with the ECO Secretariat.  The member states shall convey information on the format to be prepared by ECI to the ECO Secretariat within two months.  The ECI will prepare a questionnaire in one month and member states will respond to it within two months. Iran declared that it would cover 80% of the cost of the preparation of the Guide Book.

The Meeting worked on Draft Plan of Action on Tourism and agreed on a revised version of the Draft Plan of Action.

The 2^nd HLEG meeting will be held in Turkey in the first half of 2007 and the 3^rd HLEG meeting in Azerbaijan in the second half of 2007.  The meeting decided that private-sector parties should also be invited to these meetings. The first Ministerial meeting on Tourism will be held in November 2007 in Iran. The First ECO Tourism Fair will be held in Tehran on ECO Day, 28^th November, 2007.