350,000 Foreign Tourists Visited Sistan-Baluchestan

In the first six months of the current Iranian year (started March 21), 350,000 foreign tourists entered Sistan-Baluchestan Province and visited its cultural and historical attractions.

“These tourists were mainly from neighboring countries, but there were also visitors from Germany, Hungary, Italy, Austria, England, the Netherlands and Australia,” Mojtaba Mirhosseini, tourism deputy at the provincial office of Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization, said.

In addition to historical attractions, the visitors were fascinated by the unique culture and traditions of the region, IRNA reported.

The province has high potentials in religious, commercial and health tourism.

“In the last Iranian year [ended March 19, 2016], we had approximately 700,000 foreign tourists, far below the tourism capacity of the province.  However, there has been a significant growth in the number of tourists coming here in recent years,” he said.

“More Europeans now visit Sistan-Baluchestan Province, thanks to tourism fairs and expos held in Germany, Russia and Oman in the past two years.”

The provincial ICHHTO office is to hold tourism events in Germany, Russia, Spain and Oman with the aim of introducing the province’s tourism attractions and negotiating with foreign tour operators.

Sistan-Baluchestan Province is home to two world heritage sites, Shahr-e-Soukhteh (Persian for 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 very popular attractions. Situated along Makran Coast, from Kachoo Village up to the proximity of Gwadar Bay, these mounts are a type of badlands.