TEHRAN – Iranian tourism minister Ali-Asghar Mounesan on Monday inaugurated 28 cultural heritage-and-tourism-related projects in Fars during his visit to the southern Iranian province.

The projects worth 7.3 trillion rials (about $173 million at the official rate of 42000 rials) include hotels, apartment hotels, traditional restaurants, agritourism unites, museums, eco-lodge units, and rural guesthouses, and architectural amenities, according to data provided by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism, and Handicrafts.

The inaugurations are expected to add more than 600 beds to the hospitality sector of the province and generate 267 new job opportunities.

The ancient region of Fars also spelled Pars, or Persis was the heart of the Achaemenian Empire (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 into this provincial capital which was the literary capital of Persia during the Zand dynasty from 1751 to 1794.

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 24 being 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.

AFM