While travelers were hurrying to add to overtourism in their favorite coastal destinations in northern Iran during recent national holidays, the beautiful province of Sistan-Baluchestan on the opposite direction in the southeast once again remained unnoticed. Over the past week, northbound roads experienced hours-long traffic jams and shorelines were overcrowded by beach holidaymakers. In stark contrast, southern shorelines of Sistan-Baluchestan were sadly tourist-free.
The shunned province, more stunning than the northern coastlines, is falling far behind its potential place in the tourism market, calling for a wise strategy to flourish. Covering 11.5% of Iran's area, Sistan-Baluchestan is home to a collection of natural beauties, rarely found in one place anywhere else in the world.
Hidden Potential
With over 1000 kilometers of shoreline stretched from Jask to Chabahar counties, the province has a hidden potential in the marine tourism, especially given its connection to the waters of Indian Ocean. However, the region needs to go a long way to become a popular travel destination for both domestic and foreign travelers, Ali Osat-Hashemi, the province's former governor general said.
"If Sistan-Baluchestan is deprived of common merits of a tourist destination and is almost unknown for most Iranians, let alone for foreigners, it is our fault," he said.
Hashemi blamed the province's unpopularity on officials' lack of plans to improve travel infrastructure, unwise management, ignorable urban development and constant lack of budget.
"Rich culture and pristine nature in the province is a powerful pull to attract visitors; the only thing needed is to develop infrastructure and publicize the beauties of the region," the former official said.
False Image
This is also to be blamed on the false image of the region in the public eye. For Iranians, hearing the name of Sistan-Baluchestan conjures up stories of drought, desiccated wetlands, dust storms and insecurity. Although many domestic and foreign travelers have remained aloof from Sistan-Baluchestan for a long time, the province is looking to burnish its image and promote itself as a safe destination with plenty to offer.
The province is home to two world heritage sites, Shahr-e-Soukhteh (Persian for the burnt city) and Lut Desert—Iran's first natural world heritage site (shared between Sistan-Baluchestan and Kerman). Martian Mounts in Chabahar County considered as symbols of Chabahar's unique geomorphology, are also among highly popular attractions. The mounts are a type of badland situated along the Makran coastal strip, from Kachoo Village up to the proximity of Gwadar Bay.
In the vicinity of Darak Village, where blistering desert sands approach dark blue waters, mud volcanoes erupting in the coastal plains of the Sea of Oman and Iran's only active volcano Taftan beckon to those who desire to take a glimpse of Sistan-Baluchestan's natural beauties.
Remedial Measures
Officials have so far taken certain steps to remove obstacles in the way of the region's tourism development, such as efforts to moderate high travel costs to the province.
A Tehran-Zahedan rail route was established to make the trip more affordable.
However, according to Mojtaba Mir-Hosseini, tourism deputy at provincial office of Iran's Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization, a big part of the train's capacity remains vacant, although the sale of new tickets for stations along the way was proposed last year to both fill up the capacity and attract more travelers to the province by diversifying the destinations.
The train has also been equipped with car transport facilities at a reasonable price, which travel agencies can publicize as an advantage. Furthermore, projects like four coastal resorts along the coasts of Ramin, Chabahar, Konarak and Zarabad counties in the province were among other measures targeting the province's marine potential to attract tourists.
Officials are also working on developing the area's ecotourism infrastructure along the Makran coastline, hoping to exploit the region's access to the sea and unspoiled natural landscapes.
Makran is a semi desert coastal strip stretching along southeastern Iran to Pakistan's Baluchistan and borders the coasts of Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman.
