TEHRAN – Sixteen villages have been selected as high potential targets with the aim of boosting rural tourism in the northeastern Khorasan Razavi province.

The villages have been shortlisted from a total of 54, provincial deputy tourism chief Ahmad Dinari announced on Wednesday.

A budget of 100 billion rials (about $2.4 million at the official rate of 42,000 rials) has been allocated to improve the tourism infrastructure in the selected villages.

Having a very diverse natural setting, Iran offers varied excursions to nature lovers. Sightseers may live with a nomad or rural family or enjoy an independent stay. The country is home to abundant historical mansions, caravanserais, bathhouses, madrasas, and other massive monuments, which can buttress its budding tourism and hospitality sectors if managed appropriately and refurbished properly.

The World Tourism Organization sees rural tourism a type of activity in which the visitor’s experience is related to a wide range of products generally linked to nature-based activities, agriculture, rural lifestyle, culture, angling, and sightseeing. Such tourism also possesses characteristics such as low population density, a landscape dominated by agriculture and forestry, as well as traditional social structure and lifestyle.

ABU/MG