Heydarali Zahedian, acting head of the Tourism Department at the Fars Provincial Office of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts, said on Monday that 23,319 foreign tourists traveled to the province during the six-month period.
“Although Fars hosted tourists from various countries, Russia, China, France, Germany, and Austria accounted for the largest number of visitors to the province,” Zahedian told IRNA.
He said visits to Hafezieh and Saadieh, the UNESCO-listed sites of Persepolis and Pasargad, Eram Garden, the Sassanid Axis, and other cultural heritage attractions of Fars were included in the travel itineraries of foreign tourists.
Referring to the importance of increasing the presence of foreign tourists in boosting the province’s tourism sector, Zahedian said meetings had been held with inbound tour operators to explore ways of attracting more international visitors in line with current conditions.
“One of the ways to attract tourists is hosting foreign fam tours [familiarization tours] to introduce tourism potentials and the positive features of traveling to this province,” he said.
Zahedian added that fam tours can play a highly effective role in attracting inbound tourists, noting that tour operators are focusing on organizing such tours and are currently holding consultations and negotiations with groups from different countries.
IRNA