TEHRAN – East Azarbaijan hotel industry’s occupancy rates reached 100 percent during the first half of the current Iranian calendar year (started on March 21), the provincial deputy tourism chief has said.

“Hotel occupancy was 100% during the first six months of the current year, while now this rate has reached 45%,” Alireza Bayramzadeh said on Wednesday.

Some 60,000 international travelers visited East Azarbaijan in the first half of the current Iranian calendar year (started on March 21), the provincial tourism chief said on Wednesday.

Moreover, 1,300 domestic travelers stayed in hotels and guest houses of the province during the summer (Jun. 22-Sep. 22), said, adding “the overall number of people visiting the province reached some five million during the six months.”

Earlier in July, the official announced that foreign visits to the province were at a record high. “Over 30,000 foreign travelers visited the province during the first three months of the year, which makes a record high since 2017.”

This number of foreign tourists shows a growth of about 300% compared to the two-year restriction period caused by the coronavirus pandemic, he said.

“It shows more than 100% growth compared to the period before the spread of the coronavirus, which is a very high and significant progress.”

Citizens from Turkey, Iraq, the Republic of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Russia, China, Germany, Sweden, France, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain were among the people who traveled to the province during the three months, the official explained.

Soaked in history and culture for millennia, Tabriz, the capital of East Azarbaijan, embraces several historical and religious sites, including the Jameh Mosque of Tabriz and Arg of Tabriz, and UNESCO-registered Tabriz Historic Bazaar Complex to name a few. The city became the capital of the Mongol Il-Khan Mahmud Gazan (1295–1304) and his successor. Timur (Tamerlane), a Turkic conqueror, took it in 1392. Some decades later, the Kara Koyunlu Turkmen made it their capital. It was when the famous Blue Mosque was built in Tabriz.

The city retained its administrative status under the Safavid dynasty until 1548 when Shah Tahmasp I relocated his capital westward to Qazvin. During the next two centuries, Tabriz changed hands several times between Persia and the Ottoman Empire. During World War I, the city was temporarily occupied by Turkish and then Soviet troops.

AM