ISFAHAN -- For the first time in Iran a police center will be set up to protect tourists who visit the historical city of Isfahan, announced the province's Deputy Governor General for Development Affairs, Azizollah Shams, here Tuesday.

According to a survey, 93 percent of the tourists who visited the city were happy with their visits, he said.

Isfahan Province is renowned for its many magnificent cultural and historical attractions.

Iran is hard at work to promote tourism as a source of additional revenues in order to find a cushion for its economy and generate jobs.

In January, the Head of Iran Touring and Tourism Organization, Mohammad Mo'ezzoddin, said boosting the country's tourism industry was key to reducing unemployment.

Mo'ezzoddin told the Third Seminar on Expansion of Tourism in Lorestan Province that international statistics indicate that on average every two tourists generate one job in the host country.

Some 1.2 million tourists have visited Iran's natural landscapes and historical monuments in the current Iranian year which started on March 21, earning revenues of over $1 billion, a figure that is expected to rise to $2 billion this year.

In addition, the number of tourists who visited Iran this year, rose by 16.5 percent, compared to that in the same period in the previous year.

Some 350,000 of the tourists arrived by air and the rest on land. Less than one percent of the visitors used sea transportation to get to the country.

Tourists were mainly from the Persian Gulf littoral states, Azerbaijan, and several European states, IRNA said.

Iran is among the top 10 tourism hubs of the world in terms of possessing historical and monumental sites and natural attractions, but its share from the tourism industry is meager.