TEHRAN-Four new eco-lodge units are scheduled to be built in the Iranian capital by the end of the next Iranian calendar year 1400 (March 20, 2022), a provincial tourism official has said.

Three units will be constructed in Firoozkooh and one unit will come on stream in Shemiranat with the aim of boosting tourism infrastructure in the province’s rural areas, Jalal Abbasi announced on Monday.

The construction of these units, which could preserve the historical texture of the rural areas, will generate job opportunities for 30 local people directly, the official added.

The tourism ministry has set a target to help build 2,000 eco-lodges by 2021, believing such guest houses could cater to sustainable development and job creation in the countryside and rural areas.

Experts say each eco-lodge unit generates jobs for seven to eight people on average so that the scheme could create 160,000 jobs.

The culturally-diverse country never disappoints visitors when it comes to eco-tourism, sightseeing, and even tribal tourism as it is home to many regional people including ones with Turk and Arab elements in addition to the Kurds, Baloch, Bakhtyari, Lurs, and other smaller minorities such as Armenians, Assyrians, Jews, and others.

ABU/MG