Some 2.5mln tourists visited Syria from January to July

DAMASCUS - Syria has received 2.5 million tourists in the first seven months of this year as the country's tourism sector begins to recover after 12 years of war, Syrian Tourism Minister Mohammad Rami Radwan Martini told Sputnik.

"Some 1.2 million tourists from Arab and other countries came to Syria in the first seven months of this year, while another 1.3 million were those Syrians living abroad who visited Syria during this period and used its tourism infrastructure," Martini said.

The tourism industry in war-torn countries usually suffers the most and is the last to recover, the minister noted.

"Western sanctions have prevented many Arab and foreign companies from investing in projects in Syria, particularly in the tourism sector," Martini added.

However, there are projects in Syria for Russia to invest in, and the country would like to attract Russian tourists to visit its cultural sites, Martini said.

"Despite the war and destruction, there are 3,600 hotels, tourist complexes and restaurants are operating in Syria. We are opening projects for investment designed for mass tourism, especially on the coast of Tartus, in Latakia, the suburbs of Damascus, Aleppo and Homs," Martini added.

The armed conflict in Syria has been ongoing since 2011, with various insurgent groups, including terrorist organisations, fighting the Syrian armed forces to oust the government of President Bashar Assad.

Over 12 years, the Syrian crisis has placed an estimated 15.3 million people in dire need of humanitarian assistance, including 5.5 million refugees forced to flee Syria to neighbouring states and 6.8 million internally displaced people, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said. - BERNAMA-SPUTNIK