In the context of sustainable development, some organizations have the potential to create environmental, cultural, and social value due to the geographical scope of their operations, the nature of their services, and the type of intervention they have in the natural and social environment. On the other hand, in the absence of responsible mechanisms, they can unintentionally cause destruction, threats, and pressure on natural resources and human life. It is essential for holding companies such as Hegta to redefine their role beyond mere exploiters and as regulators and civilizing actors in the realm of the environment and culture.

World Environment Day is a valuable opportunity to reflect and review our role and contribution in preserving and promoting this global capital. Social Security Tourism Holding (HSHTA), as the largest national holding in Iran’s tourism industry, feels a double responsibility towards the environment, local communities, and the country’s natural heritage, with a coherent chain of specialized companies in the fields of accommodation, transportation, tour operations, and investment.

We consider tourism not just an industry, but also a platform for recreating the relationship between humans, land, and nature, reinterpreting cultural identity, and restoring spatial justice. In this view, every investment project, every travel package, and every accommodation experience in Iran’s diverse climate must contribute to restoring the balance between humans and nature. Alignment with the Seventh National Development Plan, especially in its environmental-related sections, requires HEGATA, as a national institution, to define and implement its duties with greater precision, responsibility, and foresight. From this perspective, HEGATA’s subsidiaries are required to

1. Establish an environmental management system in their daily operations

2. Partner with local communities to facilitate promotion and education, protection of natural resources, employment, and decision-making

3. Provide authentic experiences based on respect for the ecosystem

4. Optimize water and energy consumption

But this invitation is not only addressed to the large Hegta family. All tourism, culture and environmental activists, including managers, researchers, hotel industry activists, tourism guides, government and civil society institutions, must take steps towards the green modernization of the tourism industry. We need to form a national alliance to make Iran’s future livable; a coalition of experts, artists, natives of different climates, planners, engineers and social activists that sees tourism as a tool for building a sustainable future, not a reckless consumer of the resources of future generations. In the path ahead, Hegta is ready to enter into a systematic and purposeful dialogue with research institutions, universities, environmental organizations, the private sector and civil society. We want to develop an Iranian-Islamic model of sustainable tourism in which civilizational teachings, concepts of dignity, hospitality, endowment, fairness and justice are included in the policy-making text.

In conclusion, I celebrate World Environment Day not only as an occasion, but also as an opportunity to redefine professional missions, value national resources, and reinvent tourism policies. I invite all concerned companions in the field of tourism and natural heritage to accompany Hegta in this green transformation. A livable future will not be possible without institutional synergy, public participation, and the moral commitment of managers.

Alireza Tabesh

June 15, 1404