IRNA -- Head of the Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization of Iran said despite economic and currency problems in the first half of this year, our handicrafts exports increased by 9.5% compared to that in the same period last year.

Ali Asghar Monesan told a group of tourism activists, crafts artists and cultural heritage lovers in Isfahan Province on Sunday, �According to the Central Bank's order, handicraft exporters were exempt from the transfer of currency funds to the NIMA system, and the Central Bank only granted this bonus to exporters.

He emphasized marketing and sales of handicrafts and added, �Last year, we commented on the commercialization of the relevant department, which focused on the issue of designing on the basis of customer's taste, brand building and packaging, so that we could have more markets at our disposal.

Monesan also referred to the development of the tourism industry in the country, adding, �Despite the foreign media's propaganda against Iran and the destruction of our country in the public opinion of the people of the world, foreign tourists after traveling to Iran and seeing the realities of our country become ambassadors for the introduction of our country, and are changing a negative view created against Iran's people.'

He accessed the jobs making rate in the tourism sector 2.5 times more than other sectors, adding that the investment number per job in this sector is more than 500 million rials.