TEHRAN – Building new eco-lodges will create some 16,000 jobs in Iran, the Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization’s director has said.

The organization aims to launch 2,000 new eco-lodges by 2021, CHHTO director Ali-Asghar Mounesan added.

On May 13, government spokesman Mohammad-Baqer Nobakht pledged support for ecotourism by providing loans to applicants seeking to build eco-lodges.

Iran has a very diverse nature where sightseers may even stay with a nomad or rural family or enjoy an independent stay to feel its rustic routines, agriculture, wildlife as well as traditional arts and culture.

PHOTO: A view of Noghli House, a tradition eco-lodge in Kashan, central Iran.

AFM/MQ/MG