A number of tourism facilities were officially inaugurated in the northeastern province of Khorasan Razavi on Monday during a ceremony attended by Ali Asghar Mounesan, head of Iran's Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization and President Hassan Rouhani, who joined the event via video link.
Held at the Park Hayat Grand Hotel in Binaloud County, the event marked the completion of four tourism projects funded by the private sector, namely Mashhad's Saken Hotel extension scheme, establishment of ecolodges in Baghdasht and Bahrabad neighborhoods and Refah Hotel in Mashhad as well as the restoration of Park Hayat Grand Hotel, ILNA reported.
Furthermore, the first phase of a site-museum in Sangbast County became operational, Mounesan said.
Providing details on the projects, Mounesan said the site-museum has created job opportunities for over 570 people.
"The 6-hectare historical area, which dates back to Ghaznavids [977–1186], has been restored at a cost of 12 billion rials [$285,000]," he added.
According to the official, Park Hayat Grand Hotel covers 2.3 hectares and offers 313 rooms. The hotel compound stretches over 3.5 hectares and houses pools, gyms, conference and ceremony halls, a VIP lounge and a traditional Iranian-style outdoor restaurant with a capacity of 600 people.
With 1.1 trillion rials of budget ($27.6m), the hotel's rehabilitation project provided job opportunities for some 180 people, Mounesan said.
The 5-story Saken Hotel in Mashhad with 25 rooms was refurbished with 70 billion rials ($1.6m) and has generated employment for 23 people."
Ecolodges in Baghdasht and Bahrabad have also created jobs for about ten people. With a fund of 11 billion rials ($260,000), the ecolodges respectively cover 230 and 320 square meters accommodating around 70 guests.
Additionally, the 16-story Hotel Refah was inaugurated in Mashhad with 115 rooms. According to Mounesan, two trillion rials ($47.6m) have been spent on the project, creating employment for 100 people.
More Potential
Pointing to the untapped potential of Khorasan Razavi in historical, cultural and ecotourism along with religious travel, Mounesan emphasized that the province is fairly capable of attracting much more domestic and foreign tourists compared to the current 20 million.
As the official said, 336 tourism projects worth over 77 trillion rials ($1.8 billion) are underway in the province.
"The projects include 258 hotels and 50 vacation rentals, totally creating job opportunities for over 9,500 people."
Over the past Iranian year (ended March 20), the accommodation capacity in the province increased by 36,000 and is expected to rise by another 34,000 by 2021.
In a wider context, about 1,700 tourism projects are currently underway throughout the country, of which 1,250 projects are planned to be inaugurated by the end of Rouhani's term in 2021, according to Mounesan.
Binaloud in Focus
Enriched with natural, historical and cultural values, the capabilities of Binaloud County in the province in dawing travelers have not been utilized as expected, head of provincial ICHHTO said.
According to Abolfazl Mokarramifar, the county has 39 tourist sites and nine local guesthouses, which offer travel facilities to visitors.
With 23 heritage sites inscribed in the national heritage list, over 130 local artisans producing handmade artworks in 143 workshops and nine certified gift shops, the county is completely ready to play a role in the province's tourism sector, the official added.
"Binaloud can extend the itinerary of those who enter the province to visit the holy shrine of Imam Reza [PBUH] sitting in Mashhad and extending their period of stay in the province by introducing a wider range of attractions."
Although a major destination for both domestic and inbound tourists, Khorasan Razavi's travel market has been one-dimensional with a huge number of its visitors being pilgrims.
Efforts are aimed at diversifying travel in Khorasan Razavi whose tourism has been dominated by pilgrimage.
According to heritage officials, finishing the suspended project of the Shandiz tourism center as well as the national inscription of Binaloud's stone carvings and villages could give a boost to the tourism sector in the province.
"There are currently 82 projects on tourism development in Binaloud under construction," the official said, hoping that heritage authorities will provide the required budget for their completion.
