The role of cultural diplomacy with an emphasis on tourism in increasing the political dignity and prestige of the Islamic Republic of Iran

Today, soft power is used alongside hard power to advance the interests and achieve the goals of countries in the world arena. In the meantime, governments use cultural diplomacy in order to paint a favorable image in the minds of the public. One of the tools of cultural diplomacy is the tourism industry. The aim of the current research is to investigate the role of the tourism industry in increasing the political dignity and prestige of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The question that is raised in this regard is how cultural diplomacy, especially the tourism industry, can increase the political dignity and prestige of the Islamic Republic of Iran in international forums and global public opinion. In this regard, it is hypothesized that if the various tools and capacities of the Islamic Republic's cultural diplomacy are managed and used in a proper and appropriate manner, there is the capacity and power to promote and accept the true and desirable face of the Iranian government and nation despite the bad publicity. Because one of the functions of cultural diplomacy is to manage the image and give credibility to the country and especially in the case of the tourism industry, the arrival of tourists can make them more familiar with the culture and cultural values of the country, and in return, they can be considered good ambassadors for the export of Iranian-Islamic culture and civilization. The present research method is descriptive-analytical, and data collection has been done by library method.