TEHRAN – Rask city in the southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchestan has the potential to become one of the tourism hubs of the country, governor of the city has said.

Considering the city’s existing capacities such as its pristine nature, the quantitative level of tourism in the province can be improved, which can help secure sustainable employment for the locals, Salim Kadkhoda said, CHTN reported on Friday. 

The private sector is also expected to collaborate in this section by investing in eco-lodge units and welfare complexes, he added. 

For mainstream Iranians, the name of Sistan-Baluchestan conjures up stories of drought, desiccated wetlands, and dust storms. On the international scale foreigners may consider it a reminiscent of the big red blot on the Iran safety map.

In ancient times, according to Encyclopedia Britannica, the Baluchistan region provided a land route to the Indus Valley and the Babylonian civilizations. The armies of Alexander the Great marched through Baluchistan in 326 BC on their way to the Hindu Kush and on their return march in 325 experienced great hardships in the region’s barren wastes. 

ABU/MG