TEHRAN - Overnight stays in Ardebil province rose 40 percent during the first nine months of the current Iranian calendar year (started March 21, 2019) compared with the same period last year.

Some 4.2 million overnight stays were registered during the nine-month period, showing 40 percent rise year on year, provincial tourism chief Nader Fallahi said, CHTN reported.

Visits by foreign and domestic travelers rose 96.3 percent and 38.8 percent respectively, the official noted.

During the mentioned period, some 350,000 people visited Meshginshahr suspension bridge, which is the largest of its kind in the Middle East, Fallahi said, noting that the figure indicates 20 percent hike year on year.

Ardebil province is home to over 3,000 historical and natural attractions, including 14 summits of 3,000 meters or more, five forests, and over 40 wetlands.

In December 2019, Fallahi announced that seventeen tourism projects, worth 1,500 billion rials (some $35 million at the official rate of 42,000 rials) would be inaugurated in the province in the near future.

Restored historical monuments, newly-built hotels, water treatment complexes, and tourism infrastructure facilities are amongst the projects which are scheduled to come on stream, he explained.

Sprawling on a high, windswept plateau, Ardebil is well-known for having lush natural beauties, hospitable people and its silk and carpet trade tradition. It is also home to the UNESCO-registered Sheikh Safi al-Din Khanegah and Shrine Ensemble.

AFM/MG