TEHRAN – There are plans to develop tourism in the western province of Lorestan at both national and international levels, the provincial tourism chief has said.

Since Lorestan accounts for a low proportion of national and international tourism, strategies and policies have been developed to take advantage of the province’s tourism potential, CHTN quoted Ata Hassanpour as saying on Wednesday.

There is a great deal of potential for tourism development in Lorestan, which can have a huge impact on economic growth and job creation, the official added.

Lorestan, which is a region of raw beauty, was inhabited by Iranian Indo-European peoples, including the Medes, c. 1000 BC. Cimmerians and Scythians intermittently ruled the region from about 700 to 625 BC. The Luristan Bronzes are noted for their eclectic array of Assyrian, Babylonian, and Iranian artistic motifs.

Lorestan was incorporated into the growing Achaemenid Empire in about 540 BC and successively was part of the Seleucid, Parthian, and Sassanid dynasties.

ABU/MG