TEHRAN – A short-term plan is underway to make Tehran a top tourist destination in the country, the provincial tourism chief has said.

There is a two-year plan for Tehran to become the epicenter of tourism, which will last until the Iranian calendar year 1402 (March 2023-March 2024), CHTN quoted Parham Janfeshan as saying on Saturday.

Tehran’s accommodation centers and hotels have been empty, especially on holidays, as Tehran always provides tourists to other cities, the official explained.

However, it has one advantage for the city and when people realize Tehran is quiet and uncrowded during the holidays, they will prefer to travel there, he added.

Tehran offers many attractions to visitors from around the country, including entertainment centers, parks, historical centers, the historical core of the city, shopping centers, and tourist complexes, as well as several tours organized for travelers, he noted.

Moreover, to boost tourism infrastructure, a total of 17 tourism-related projects have been inaugurated across the province on the occasion of the national tourism week (September 27-October 3), he mentioned.

A budget of 4.1 trillion rials ($13.7 million) has been channeled into the projects, he said.

The projects include eco-lodge units, traditional restaurants, tourist complexes, and apartment hotels, he stated.

He also noted that the projects are estimated to generate over 415 job opportunities.

The first time Tehran is mentioned in historical accounts is in an 11th-century chronicle in which it is described as a small village north of Ray.

Ray, in which signs of settlement date from 6000 BC, is often considered to be Tehran’s predecessor. It became the capital city of the Seljuk Empire in the 11th century but later declined with factional strife between different neighborhoods and the Mongol invasion of 1220.

Tehran has many to offer its visitors including Golestan Palace, Grand Bazaar, Treasury of National Jewels, National Museum of Iran, Glass & Ceramic Museum, Masoudieh Palace, Sarkis Cathedral, Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, and Carpet Museum of Iran, to name a few.

ABU/MG