TEHRAN – Khorasan Razavi province’s tourism chief has said 730,000 foreigners visited the northeastern province in the first five months of the current Iranian calendar year (started March 21).

Abolfazl Mokarramifar put the whole number of arrivals including domestic pilgrims at over 16.5 million during the same period, saying the figure shows 14 percent year-on-year growth, CHTN reported.

Earlier this year, the official said that over 900 hotels, apartment hotels and guest houses are catering to travelers across the province, adding, “274 hotels are being constructed with an average completion of 60 percent.”

The holy shrine of Imam Reza (AS), the eighth Shia Imam, in the province’s capital city of Mashhad, attracts thousands of pilgrims each day.

The city has also the highest concentration of water parks in the country, and it also embraces variety of cultural and historical sites which are generally crowded.

AFM/MQ/MG