TEHRAN –Over 3.5 million maritime trips have been recorded in the southern province of Hormozgan during the Persian new year holidays, a local tourism official has said.

Noruz travelers made a total of 3,649,688 sea trips from and to the islands of the province, Hossein Abbasnejad explained on Monday.

The Islamic Republic has launched projects to take advantage of southern coasts to make the best use of its maritime tourism potential using developing hospitality infrastructures, diversifying sea routes, and drawing private sector investors. According to official data, some 45 offshore terminals are operating on the northern and southern coasts of the country.

Experts say that the boom in maritime tourism can pave the way for Iran to meet its ambitious target of attracting 20 million annual tourists by 2025 as it also keeps an eye on tourism developments in the Caspian Sea in the north.

With widening facilities in the free zones of Chabahar, Kish and Qeshm — each home to tens of tourist destinations — they would be able to draw sightseers all year round, not just during the wintertime.

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, attracts many tourists through its colorful mountains, silver sand shores, and great local people.

Hengam Island has scenery shores, serene sunsets, and kind natives, which can attract travelers who enjoy a relaxing trip by spending time on this tranquil island.

Qeshm Island is heaven for eco-tourists as it embraces wide-ranging attractions such as the Hara marine forests and about 60 villages dotted mostly across its rocky coastlines. The island also features geologically eye-catching canyons, hills, caves, and valleys, most of which are protected as part of the UNESCO-tagged Qeshm Island Geopark, itself a haven for nature lovers.

ABU/AM