TEHRAN– Gilan province’s tourism directorate seeks to promote agritourism in its Sowme’eh Sara county, which is home to countless farms, paddy fields, pastures, and gardens.

“Considering its significant capacities, we seek to strengthen looked-for infrastructure to develop agritourism in Sowme’eh Sara,” CHTN quoted the provincial tourism chief as saying on Wednesday.

“The agricultural capacity of Sowme’eh Sara, specifically in the cultivation of rice, tea, sugarcane, tobacco, mulberry, and saffron, as well as chicken breeding and wood cultivation, has made this area an important destination for domestic and foreign travelers,” Vali Jahani explained.

“In this regard, investment facilities and incentives, such as low-interest loans and tax exemptions, are provided to investors applying for investment in the field of agricultural tourism in Sowme’eh Sara,” the official explained.

Jahahi said the short distance between Sowme’eh Sara and Rasht is an advantage to investing in agriculture to attract more domestic and foreign tourists.

Agritourism is a relatively new branch of the travel industry in which tourists stay with local people in rural areas. Farm/ranch recreation refers to activities conducted on private agricultural lands, which might include fee-hunting and fishing, overnight stays, educational activities, etc. Experts believe that in addition to the customer services jobs, agritourism pays special attention to the production sector, saying agricultural tourism is much more important and practical than other branches of tourism because it creates a new chain and diversity in the field of production and services.

Sophisticated Rasht, the capital of Gilan province, has long been a weekend escape for residents of Tehran who are looking to sample the famous local cuisine and hoping for some pluvial action– it's the largest and wettest town in the northern region. Gilan is divided into a coastal plain, including the large delta of Sefid Rud and adjacent parts of the Alborz Mountain range.

In addition, Gilan is well-known for its rich Iron Age cemeteries such as Marlik that have been excavated over the past century. It was once within the sphere of influence of the successive Achaemenian, Seleucid, Parthian, and Sassanid empires that ruled Iran until the 7th century CE. The subsequent Arab conquest of Iran led to the rise of many local dynasties, and Gilan acquired an independent status that continued until 1567.

AM