TEHRAN - A total of four tourism-related projects worth 3.3 trillion rials ($78.5 m at the official exchange rate of 42,000 rials per dollar) are currently underway in the city of Nir, Ardabil province, the provincial tourism chief has said.

The projects are being carried out in collaboration with the private sector, CHTN quoted Nader Fallahi as saying on Friday.

The projects include a three-star hotel, two tourist complexes, and a guest house, the official added.

Back in January, the official announced that more than 150 tourism-related projects are underway across the northwestern province. The mentioned projects will prepare the province’s tourism sector for the post-coronavirus era when the number of tourists and travelers is expected to rise magnificently, the official added.

Earlier in July, a local tourism official announced that some 835 jobs are expected to be created in Ardabil by several investments in tourism-related projects, which are estimated to get off the ground by the end of the current Iranian year 1400 (ends in March 2022).

Last April, tourism authorities of the province announced that they have developed extensive plans to draw more tourists during the winter season to the province and make it the winter tourism hub of the country. In December 2019, Fallahi announced that seventeen tourism projects, worth 1,500 billion rials (some $35 million) would be inaugurated in the province in near future. Ha said that the objective to launch tourism projects in the province is to provide tourists from all over the world and domestic tourists as well with the opportunity to use these facilities and select Ardabil as their prime destination.

Back in November former Cultural Heritage, Tourism, and Handicrafts Minister Ali-Asghar Mounesan said that investment in the tourism sector and boosting tourism infrastructure has not stopped despite the outbreak of the coronavirus in the country.

Sprawling on a high, windswept plateau, Ardabil 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.

The province is very cold in winter and mild in summer, attracting thousands every year. The capital city of Ardabil is usually recorded as one of the coldest cities in the country in winter.

ABU/AFM