TEHRAN – The central province of Yazd, a traditional heaven for cultural travelers, has hosted only 20 international tourists as well as 300 domestic travelers so far in spring, provincial tourism chief has said. 

While over two million foreign tourists and about half a million Iranians visited the province at the same period of time in the previous year, coronavirus outbreak has hit the tourism industry in the region hard, said Seyyed Mostafa Fatemi, ILNA reported on Friday.

Although the coronavirus lockdown has been eased, considering the beginning of summertime and warm and dry weather of Yazd, the province won’t expect more tourist arrivals, he added.   

In late February, Iran temporarily closed cultural heritage museums and historical sites across the country and limited travel between its major cities in an effort to halt the spread of the coronavirus.

However, different provinces launched virtual tours and online visits for the people who were in-home quarantine over past few months. 

Couple of weeks before the virus spread, Iran was emerging as the third fastest-growing tourism destination in the globe in 2019, with 27.9 percent growth year on year, according to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).

Domestic travel in Iran reaches its climax from mid-March to early April, a time corresponding to the Persian New Year (Noruz) holidays. Iranians made 74 million overnight stays in their domestic trips during the Noruz holidays last year, which showed a 20 percent increase year on year.

With its winding lanes, forest of badgirs (wind catchers), mud-brick houses, atmospheric alleyways, and centuries of history, Yazd is a delightful place to stay, referring as a ‘don't miss’ destination by almost all travel associates in the region. The oasis city is wedged between the northern Dasht-e Kavir and the southern Dasht-e Lut on a flat plain ringed by mountains.

Yazd Jameh Mosque, Dowlatabad Garden, the Yazd Atash Behram, also known as Atashkadeh-e Yazd, Towers of Silence, and adjacent desert landscape are among its tourist sites.  

ABU/MG