Despite the collapse of the country’s tourism sector and the destruction of its main touristic highlights, Syrian authorities are all set to make the country attractive to foreign travelers again.

In an interview with Sputnik, Minister of Tourism Bushr Yazedji said that in spite of the war, the country still had great potential for breathing new life into its tourism industry and rebuilding its main architectural monuments.

“After the liberation of some of our cities, which once used to be major touristic highlights, we noticed that their residents were willing to revitalize local tourism,” Mr. Yazedji said.

The Minister underscored the urgent need to attract foreign investments, above all Russian, to breathe new life in the local tourism sector and have foreign tourists coming in again.

Russians, who are used to spending their vacations in a similar climate, are expected to come in in large numbers, along with those from China, Iran, South Africa and other countries, the Minister said.

“We have already met with these countries’ ambassadors who were enthusiastic about the business proposals we made. We offered several investment-attractive projects for Russian companies, primarily concerning traditional places of pilgrimage in Syria with Damascus to serve as a starting point from where pilgrims will move on to Jerusalem, Amman and other places,” Bushr Yazedji said.

He earlier said that the ministry, in cooperation with the World Tourism Organization, was setting up an agency to guarantee the security of foreign tourists and investors in Syria.