TEHRAN – Three new hotels were inaugurated in the Persian Gulf island of Qeshm on Thursday, aiming to boost hospitality services on the southern island.

The projects, worth 320 billion rials (some $7.6 million at the official rate of 42,000 rials), will generate 146 job opportunities, directly and indirectly, IRNA reported.

With the inauguration of the hotels, 362 beds are added to the accommodation capacity of the island.

President Hassan Rouhani inaugurated the projects through video conference.

The president also inaugurated 14 more projects in the fields of industry, energy, production, transportation, tourism, and development.

Qeshm Island is a heaven for eco-tourists as it embraces wide-ranging attractions such as the Hara marine forests and about 60 villages dotted mostly across its rocky coastlines.

The island also features geologically eye-catching canyons, hills, caves, and valleys, most of which are protected as part of the UNESCO-tagged Qeshm Island Geopark, itself a haven for nature-lovers.

Many travelers to Qeshm believe that the Stars Valley or Valley of Stars is a “MUST SEE”. It is home to bizarre-shaped gorges, tall pillars, canyon-like paths, hollowed-out spaces as well as the smooth and round stones, which have been formed by the wind and rain eroding the soil, rocks, and stones. Locals believe that a star once fell on this area thereby creating the rocky shapes that make it seem as if from another planet.

ABU/MG