TEHRAN –A total of 17 hotels and apartment hotels are being constructed across the central province of Qom, adding 2894 beds to the province’s hospitality sector.

Over 16 trillion rials (about $381 million at the official exchange rate of 42,000 rials per dollar) has been invested in the hotel projects, the provincial tourism chief has said.

Upon their completion in the near future, these hotels are expected to generate 936 job opportunities, Alireza Arjmandi announced on Saturday.

In parallel with the growth of tourism, related industries, such as transportation, souvenir, and handicraft supply centers, will also expand, which could lead to economic prosperity, the official added.

The second-holiest city of the country after Mashhad, Qom is home to both the magnificent shrine of Hazrat-e Masumeh (SA) and the major religious madrasas (schools).

Apart from sightseers and pilgrims who visit Qom to pay homage at the holy shrine, the city is also a top destination for Shiite scholars and students who come from across the world to learn Islamic studies at its madrasas and browse through eminent religious bookshops.

The antiquity of Qom goes back to the Sassanid era (224 CE–651) and several historical mosques, mansions, and natural sceneries have been scattered across the city as well as towns and villages nearby.

ABU/MG