TEHRAN–On Friday, a total of 15 tourism-related projects worth 2.6 trillion rials ($8.7 million) were inaugurated across Hormozgan province via video conference.

The projects include tourism complexes, accommodation centers, and sea tourism centers, which were carried out in collaboration with the private sector, the provincial tourism chief Sohrab Banavand said.

They are estimated to generate over 160 job opportunities, the official added.

Such projects would lead to economic prosperity in the region, he noted.

Bordering the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman on the south and bounded by Bushehr and Fars provinces on the west and northwest, Kerman on the east and northeast, and Sistan-Baluchestan on the southeast, Hormozgan is widely renowned for having incredible culture and heritage, stunning sceneries, and above all its warm and hospitable people.

It embraces arrays of islands among which Kish, Hormuz, Hengam, and Qeshm are the most popular ones and top tourist destinations in the southernmost parts of the country.

Over the past couple of decades, the coral Kish Island has become a beach resort where visitors can swim, shop, and sample a laid-back and relatively liberated local lifestyle. It is home to free-trade-zone status, with ever-growing hotels, shopping centers, apartment blocks, and retail complexes.

Hormuz, which is mostly barren and hilly, is situated some eight kilometers off the coast of the Strait of Hormuz, which attracts many tourists through its colorful mountains, silver sand shores, and hospitable people.

ABU/AM