TEHRAN – International tourist arrivals in Iran’s north-central Semnan province rose 22 percent since the beginning of the current Iranian calendar year (started March 21), provincial tourism chief has said.

Talking to ISNA, Mehdi Jamal on Thursday said that the number of foreign arrivals in the province has surged over 22 percent since the start of the year. The official, however, didn’t mention the number of travelers.

Regarding tourist accommodations, the official noted, “Bed occupancy rate in hotels and guest houses was more than 85 percent, which is a very high figure.”

The main population centers of Semnan province lie along the ancient Silk Road (and modern-day Imam Reza Expressway), linking Rey (Tehran) with Khorasan (Mashhad). While few visitors spend much time in the area, driving through you can easily seek out several well-preserved caravanserais (notably Dehnamak and Ahowan), cisterns (the Cafe Abenbar in Garmsar is a special treat) and ruined mud citadels (Padeh is lumpy but fascinating). The large, bustling cities of Semnan, Damghan and Shahrud (Bastam) all have a small selection of historic buildings and Semnan has a fine old covered bazaar.

Mojtaba Karimi, who presides over Foreign Ministry’s visa and passport department, said on December 4 that some 6.7 million foreign nationals have visited Iran since the beginning of the current Iranian year.

AFM/MG