During the early 1960s, and particularly after the establishment of Sazman Jalbe Syahan in May 1963 under the Prime Minister’s Office, the Pahlavi state pursued a tourism development policy driven primarily by economic objectives and revenue generation. In line with this national strategy, the Mazandaran provincial office focused for nearly a decade—up to 1972—on the construction of tourism-related infrastructure through the implementation of various development projects.

However, with the commencement of the Fifth Development Plan on 1 Farvardin 1352 (21 March 1973), the mission of the organization underwent a significant shift. Reflecting the plan’s emphasis on improving the quality of services offered to tourists, the Mazandaran office redirected its efforts from infrastructure building toward advisory and regulatory functions. Accordingly, this study, drawing on archival documents and employing the historical research method, seeks to answer the following question: What were the concrete indicators of the transformation of the Mazandaran office’s performance toward advisory and supervisory roles as a result of the implementation of the Fifth Development Plan during the second Pahlavi era?

The findings indicate that, in response to the directives articulated in the Fifth Development Plan—which stressed the enhancement of service quality in the tourism sector—the Mazandaran office adopted several advisory and regulatory measures. These included the development of visitor satisfaction survey forms, the standardization of food and beverage menus in hospitality establishments, the classification of tourist accommodation units, the monitoring of prices and prevention of overcharging, and the enforcement of health and sanitation inspections across lodging and dining facilities. Collectively, these measures demonstrate the organization’s transition from infrastructural development to a more supervisory and guidance oriented role during this period.