TEHRAN – A strawberry festival will be held in Bahnemir, Babolsar, Mazandaran province, said the deputy head of Mazandaran Cultural Heritage Department. Mehdi Es’haghi added that the festival is a tourism event that can be an opportunity for the private sector, CHTN reported.

All tourism facilities particularly tourist service offices should have programs to draw tourists, he said.

He explained that the tourism sector is an economic, social and cultural phenomenon that can be expanded through innovation, adding that it can thrive by rendering appropriate services and continuous supervision.

The week-long strawberry festival will begin on April 17.

Mazandaran ranks second after Kordestan province in the production of strawberries. The annual strawberry harvest festival has the potential to promote tourism in the province.

Iran is set to increase its strawberry production to 70,300 metric tons by 2026, a growth of 1.8 percent each year. Since 1985, the country has seen an average annual increase of 2.1 percent. In 2021, Iran ranked twentieth, with Ukraine ahead of it at 63,060 metric tons. The United States, Mexico, and Egypt ranked second, third, and fourth respectively.

KD