TEHRAN – Nine tourism projects, worth 60 trillion rials (about $1.5 billion), have started in Shemiranat county, Tehran province, provincial tourism chief Ali Rafiei said, CHTN reported on Wednesday. 

The projects include building eco-lodge guest houses, hotels, and traditional restaurants as well as recreational and tourist facilities, he added. 

He also noted that the projects have created 370 direct job opportunities. 

Last October, Iran’s tourism minister Ali-Asghar Mounesan announced that a total of 2,451 tourism-related projects worth 2,000 trillion rials (about $47 billion) were being implemented across the country.

“The country has potential to attract whatever investment is made in this [tourism] sector and now the tourism share of the country’s gross domestic product is about 2.9%, while a share of 4.5% is sought to be achieved. To attain such figure we need 21 billion dollars of investments in tourism arena,” Mounesan said.

Being close to the capital city of Tehran and having very nice weather makes Shemiranat an alluring destination for both domestic and foreign travelers. 

ABU/MG