Governor Tahir Zaheer says tourism has bloomed in Bamiyan over the past two years under the National Unity Government.

Zaheer said their findings reveal that at least 200,000 people visited Band-e-Amir National Park and other historical and touristic sites in the province so far this year.

“We have witnessed a high and regular number of tourists since this year’s Eid celebrations or over the past 50 days,” he told TOLOnews on Saturday.

According to Bamiyan officials, eight sites are part of the world cultural heritages in Bamiyan and are registered at UNESCO – the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

“Our compatriots are coming from very rural provinces like Helmand and Herat and Kandahar. But mostly they come here from Kabul. This year, we had a huge number of national tourists but we have fewer facilities on hand to accommodate them,” said Abbas Khawari, head of Bamiyan Museum.

A number of Afghan tourists said the first time visit to Bamiyan made them excited and hopeful about a brighter future for the country.

“Today was very exciting for me, especially when I visited the Buddha sculptures,” said Haseena, a resident of Kabul.

“It was my severe desire which pushed me to visit Bamiyan,” said Basira, a resident of Kapisa.

In the Band-e-Amir National Park, a number of swimmers took part in a swimming competition to attract the attention of tourists.

“We had a swimming race among five provinces. Herat got the second position,” said Murtaza, a swimmer from Herat.

“We usually come to Bamiyan for sightseeing and fun,” said Naqibullah, a resident of Baghlan.

This comes after the rural rehabilitation and development minister, Nasir Ahmad Durani, on Saturday inaugurated the construction of roads around Buddha sculptures in the Bamiyan city.

The minister said the project was aimed at attracting the attention of more tourists to the province.