Yazd Tourism Booming

About 114,000 foreign tourists visited Yazd in the last Iranian year (ended March 20, 2017), earning the province an estimated $36 million in revenues.

Seyyed Mohammad Mirmohammadi, governor general of Yazd Province, said Yazd’s tourism is booming because of the expansion of ecolodges in the past two years, Tasnim News Agency reported.

“Only two years ago, there was no ecolodge in the entire province, but 60 indigenous accommodations were built between 2015 and 2016,” he said.

Ecolodges are accommodations often built in the heart of nature and integrated with the surrounding to have the least possible impact on the region’s natural environment. They abide by the principles of sustainable development, a concept that has been receiving a lot of attention by major organizations across the world, including the United Nations.

Mirmohammadi stressed that in general, all the tourism indices of the province have improved since 2013.

“There are now 374 tour guides serving visitors to the province,” he said.

 The recent inscription of Yazd on UNESCO’s World Heritage List has added to the allure of this city.

“This is a great opportunity for further development of tourism in Yazd. In order to fully benefit from it, we need to compensate the shortfalls and remove barriers,” he said.

Located in the middle of the Iranian plateau, Yazd is a very popular destination for foreign tourists, especially for those fascinated by desert tranquility and the region’s unique cultural identity.