SHOUSH, Khuzestan Province -- Head of the Shoush Danial Cultural Heritage Department Mohammad-Ali Yazdanfar said on Saturday the number of the foreign tourists visiting Shoush and Choghazanbil increased considerably this year.

Yazdanfar told IRNA that some 3,193 foreign tourists visited Shoush and Choghazanbil over the three first months of the current year, up 50 percent from the figure in the same period last year.

Last year 2000 tourists visited the said historical places, the official said adding that this year most of the visitors were the German, French, Japanese and Italian nationals.

Yazdanfar called on the officials to provide further facilities and services for the tourists visiting the historical and tourist attractions of Iran as a way to promote the income-generating industry.

Iran attempts to attract foreign tourists by developing facilities and services for the tourists as a way to contribute to the prosperity of the industry.

Deputy Interior Minister for the Coordination and Development Affairs Ahmad Khorram on July 7 called for officials to pay further attention to the promotion of tourism as an income-generating industry.

Speaking in a gathering of managers and deputies at the Isfahan City Hall, Khorram said there are some who are opposed to allowing tourists to visit Iran and these people's attitudes are very superficial since tourism can be a good source of income.