TEHRAN - Head of Iran’s tourism ministry (MCTH) Ali Asghar Shalbafan says that tourist arrivals to the country rose significantly in the quarter to June 21 despite foreign sanctions and after a short period of recession caused by the street riots of late 2022.
Shalbafan said that Iran had received 1.4 million tourists in the quarter to June this year, up 40% from the same quarter in 2022.
Shalbafian said tourists arrivals to Iran had reached a record of 4.230 million in the two quarters to September 2022 just before riots broke out in the country over the death of young woman in police custody.
The riots, which lasted for several weeks, negatively impacted Iran’s flourishing tourism industry, he said, adding that a new surge in arrivals shows the situation has returned to normal.
Iran has introduced various measures in recent years to boost its tourism sector as it seeks to offset the impact of US sanctions on its oil export revenues.
Visa waivers and other facilities for tourists from countries like China and Russia have led to a major boom in the industry.
Shalbafian said waiving visa requirements for Iraqi nationals visiting Iran had also helped boost pilgrimage travel to Iran.
He said that Iran seeks to further increase tourists’ arrivals with a unilateral visa waiver program that could cover 60 countries around the world.
The official said the number of hotel beds in Iran had increased by 24,000 since August 2021 when the current administrative government took office.