TEHRAN – A total of 184 tourism-related projects are currently underway across the southern province of Fars, the provincial tourism chief has said.

An investment value of 64 trillion rials ($214 million) has been channeled into the projects, Seyyed Moayyed Mohsen-Nejad explained on Saturday.

The projects are expected to generate over 5,000 job opportunities upon their completion, the official added.

The ancient region of Fars, also spelled Pars or Persis, was the heart of the Achaemenian Empire (c. 550–330 BC), which was founded by Cyrus the Great and had its capital at Pasargadae. Darius I the Great moved the capital to nearby Persepolis in the late 6th or early 5th century BC.

The capital city of Shiraz is home to some of the country’s most magnificent buildings and sights. Increasingly, it draws more and more foreign and domestic sightseers flocking to this provincial capital which was the literary capital of Persia during the Zand dynasty from 1751 to 1794.

Shiraz is home to some of the country’s most magnificent buildings and sights including Eram Garden, Afif-Abad Garden, Tomb of Hafez, Tomb of Sa’di, and Jameh Mosque of Atigh.

Underway tourism-related projects across Iran

Back in September, the tourism ministry announced that tourism-related projects worth three quadrillion rials ($10 billion) are currently underway across Iran.

According to the ministry some of the projects, which are under construction in different provinces, have achieved 70 percent physical progress.

A total of 183 projects are also scheduled to be inaugurated nationwide during the national tourism week (September 27- October 3), with a budget of 310 trillion rials ($1.1 billion).

These projects, which include hotels, apartment hotels, eco-lodges, traditional restaurants, and tourist complexes, are expected to generate some 2200 job opportunities.

Experts suppose the country is to achieve a tourism boom after the coronavirus is contained, believing its impact would be temporary and short-lived for a country that ranked the third fastest-growing tourism destination in 2019.

The Islamic Republic expects to reap a bonanza from its numerous tourist spots such as bazaars, museums, mosques, bridges, bathhouses, madrasas, mausoleums, churches, towers, and mansions, of which 26 are inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list. Under the 2025 Tourism Vision Plan, Iran aims to increase the number of tourist arrivals from 4.8 million in 2014 to 20 million in 2025.

ABU/MG