TEHRAN, April 3 (Mehr News Agency) -- Iran's museums has a 25 percent increase in number of visitors during the first ten days of the Norouz holiday, Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Organization (CHTHO) official Mohammad Hossein Farahani announced.

Up to now, about 10 million tourists paid visits to museums out of which one million tourists visited museums located in Khorasan Razavi Province, Farahani stated on March 30 to an MNA reporter in Mashhad.

The Iranian New Year holiday known as the Norouz holiday runs from March 21 to April 1 annually.

He pointed out to the importance of museums in promoting the tourism industry said that tourism and visiting museums are interrelated. Also, tourists are attracted to the museums in the cities they visit since the museums are a part of each place's identity.

About 300 museums are affiliated to the CHTHO, each one featuring art, archeology and anthropology. CHTHO plans to establish 273 museums as ecomuseums and site museums in near future, he announced.

He said that CHTHO attempts to apply international standards for different aspects, including light and structure of Iranian museums.

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