TEHRAN – Imam Khomeini Relief Foundation has announced that 47 employment projects in the field of tourism have been so far launched by its clients.

These projects are operating in the form of eco-lodges, traditional restaurants, and catering, Alireza Ramezani, an official with the Foundation, said on Wednesday.

Clients' eco-lodges have been set up in various provinces including Ardabil, Hormozgan, Bushehr, South Khorasan, Khuzestan, Zanjan, Yazd, Mazandaran, and Chaharmahal-Bakhtiari.

Clients working in tourism had a good income before the coronavirus epidemic, but the outbreak has reduced their income by up to 80 percent, as in other parts of the world, he lamented.

In order to prevent the clients' losses, in addition to deferring the loans, the Foundation also provided them with free grants, Ramezani stated.

More than 10 percent of employment and GDP in the world come from tourism, which shows the importance of this industry in the world’s economy, he said, lamenting, in Iran, this sector has not been addressed as it deserves, and Iran has a share of less than 0.5 percent of the world's tourism.

The jobs that Relief Foundation provides for the underprivileged are mostly small and home-based businesses, he noted, Mehr reported on Wednesday.

Imam Khomeini Relief Foundation works to provide employment in deprived areas and empowers financially struggling families, other services such as building or buying housing, cultural services, medical services, and other facilities are provided, for example, in the field of treatment, more than 80,000 patients of incurable diseases are currently under the Foundation’s coverage.

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