TEHRAN – A total of eight five- and four-star hotels are being built in Iran’s northwestern East Azarbaijan province with a total budget of 16 trillion rials (about $380 million).

Once the projects are inaugurated, 3,100 beds will be added to the accommodation capacity of the province, Morteza Abdar, provincial chief of the cultural heritage, tourism, and handicrafts department, said on Sunday, IRNA reported.

The under-construction hotels have a total capacity of 961 beds, he said, adding that the projects will create around 2,000 job opportunities.

The capital city of Tabriz, which is well-soaked in history and culture for millennia, embraces several historical and religious sites, including Jameh Mosque of Tabriz and Arg of Tabriz, and UNESCO-registered Tabriz Historic Bazaar Complex to name a few.

The number of foreign visitors arriving in Iran surged 30 percent during the first five months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21 – August 22), compared with the same period last year, according to data compiled by Iran ministry of tourism. Under the 2025 Tourism Vision Plan, the country aims to increase the number of tourist arrivals from 4.8 million in 2014 to 20 million in 2025.

AFM/MG