TEHRAN – Isfahan province’s Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Department promotes any public-private partnerships in restoring historical sites and carrying out tourism projects across the province.

“Since the beginning of the current Iranian calendar year [March 21], the private sector has invested over 1 trillion rials (about $27 million) for restoring several heritage sites and implementing tourism projects in the province,” ISNA quoted Hamid Amini, an official with the department, as saying on Tuesday.

In this regard, the cities of Isfahan, Fereydunshahr, Chadegan, Semirom and Kashan have the largest shares of private sector participation, the official added.

Some 85 thousand foreign travelers visited Isfahan in the first calendar month of Farvardin, setting a new record for the past 40 years, the department announced in May.

Isfahan is Iran’s top tourist destination for good reason. Its profusion of tree-lined boulevards, Persian gardens and important Islamic buildings gives it a visual appeal unmatched by any other Iranian city, and the many artisans working here underpin its reputation as a living museum of traditional culture.

PHOTO: A view of the 17th-century Khaju Bridge, a main tourist destination of Isfahan, central Iran

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