IRNA  A tourism official that Iran in terms of natural touristic attractions and cultural sites ranks among the 10 most attractive countries.

Speaking at a gathering of tourism officials in Kerman, Deputy head of Iran Cultural Heritage Foundation for parliamentary, legal and international affairs Taha Hashemi said that Iran which occupies about one-percent of world territory should garner two percent of its tourism revenues.

"To reach the target the Iran Cultural Heritage Foundation has devised policies within the five-year development plans," he added.

He also said the target is to attract 20 million tourists by the end of the 20-year plan.

Hashemi further said that investments made by domestic private sector and international investors in tourism sector will drastically increase during the course of the development plans.

Other provisions include new centers for providing information to tourists and increasing facilities for them, he added.

He said that although Iran is among Asian countries offering eclectic touristic potentials, it has a long way to go in terms of services and facilities for tourists.

Iran is not only a nation with rich historical and cultural sites, but, it has unique environment and nature, in which, four seasons of the year could be observed, he added.

Highlighting the need for investment in the sector, he said there are about a total of $1 billion of projects at hands in the country aimed at expansion of tourism industry.

Deputy Secretary General of World Tourism Organization (WTO) for Asia and Pacific region praised here in October Iran's constructive measures in promoting tourism in the country.

Speaking to IRNA at the WTO headquarters in Madrid, Xu Jing said that providing visa-related facilities for tourists, Ceding of hotels to the private sector and implementing new accommodation rates are among the positive steps taken by the government with the aim of expanding tourism in Iran.

He added that although in the past tourism in Asia was limited to smaller nations such as Maldives and Nepal, in the past few years larger nations including Iran and India have been able to attract a higher share of tourists visiting the continent.

Xu had also said that the WTO has made up good relations with the new Iranian government in Tehran has shown strong interest in promoting tourism to the country.