Tourists visit Roman ruins in Palmyra, Syria, on May 11, 2023. (AP)

Syrian Tourism Minister Mohammad Rami Radwan Martini told Sputnik that 2.5 million tourists visited Syria in the first seven months of this year as the nation's tourism industry started to revive after a 12-year civil conflict.

"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 minister observed that the tourism sector in war-torn nations typically suffers the most and takes the longest to recover.

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

Martini also noted that Syria has investment opportunities and would like to draw Russian tourists to its cultural places.

"Despite the war and destruction, there are 3,600 hotels, tourist complexes, and restaurants 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.

A few days ago, a 26-person Italian team of tourists that was interested in art, culture, history, and society spent two days in Aleppo.

The delegation was given a briefing on public life, the effects of the western blockade, conflict, and the earthquake that occurred on February 6th during the tour of Aleppo city's ancient and tourist attractions.

As a cultural heritage for all people, Syria provides visitors with a wide range of amenities, including border crossings and monuments, and historical sites.

Since 2011, several insurgent groups, including terrorist organizations, have been fighting the Syrian armed forces to topple President Bashar Assad's administration. According to Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, an estimated 15.3 million people have been affected by the Syrian crisis over the past 12 years, including 6.8 million internally displaced people and 5.5 million refugees who were compelled to leave Syria for neighboring countries.

Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad said the country was destroyed by terrorism and those who backed and supported terrorism not by the ones who fought against it [terrorism], stressing that the war would have theoretically ended had the government given in to Western diktats and sacrificed the nation's sovereign interests.

In a very rare TV interview, Al-Assad told Sky News Arabia, as reported by SANA a couple of days ago, that the parties that incited, plotted, and executed the war are the ones responsible for the agonies that battered Syria due to the terrorist groups.

The Israeli occupation entity will continue to target the Syrian army as long as it [army] continues to fight the terrorists and obstruct their plans, the President said when asked about the recent aggressions on the country.