TEHRAN——Tourism-related businesses in Zanjan province needs to be boosted, the deputy tourism minister Ali-Asghar Shalbafian has said.

For the growth and development of the tourism sector in this province, the existing facilities and capacities should be utilized to their maximum potential, the official said on Saturday.

Zanjan province has a huge tourism potential, which needs to be utilized and introduced to Iranians to make it a tourist destination, he added.

Zanjan is one of the cities founded by Sassanid King Ardashir I (180-242 CE). The province makes a base for wider explorations of the architectural wonder of Soltaniyeh. The subterranean delights of the Katale-Khor caves, colorful mountains, and the UNESCO-registered Takht-e Soleiman ruins are nearby.

In January 2020, Zanjan was designated as a “world city of filigree” by the World Crafts Council after the WCC assessors visited various craft workshops, stores, exhibits, and bazaars of the city in a two-day itinerary in December 2019.

ABU/AFM