"Most foreign investors are willing to construct multi-star hotels in Iran and came to understand that Iran is a good market for investment," Soltanifar said.
He said Iran plans to build four hundred hotels to attract more foreign visitors.
Soltanifar added that in case the four hundred hotels are built by the next eleven years, Iran can well meet needs of twenty million tourists.
In October, Soltanifar said that tourist trips to Iran are very attractive, important and cheap for foreigners while at the same time the country enjoys a high level of political and security stability.
He reiterated that Iran has important and remarkable capacities in different areas, including health, religious and historical tourism, and said several measures have been taken to facilitate visits of foreign tourists to Iran. "A two-week tourist visa is issued for the nationals of 190 countries at Iranian ports and airports."
"Iran is among 10 attractive countries in terms of attracting tourists," Soltanifar said.
He said that during the first half of the current Iranian year (March 21-September 22), the number of foreign tourists showed a 200 percent growth compared with last year's corresponding period.
He noted that 90 percent of the foreign tourists come to visit Iran with the purpose of natural, historical and religious tourism, adding, "Only 10 percent of foreign tourists come to Iran to attend conferences."
Soltanifar noted that Iran has over one million historical and natural sites, adding that only 31,100 or nearly three percent of them have been registered.
