TEHRAN – The bustling yet historical Iranian capital is expected to witness a boom in the number of its visitors this year, though years of international sanctions had slowed the expansion of tourism industry in the country, Italian Journalist Agency -- Agenzia Giornalistica Italia (AGI) – reported on March 31.

Though most travelers were domestic over the past recent weeks on the occasion of the Persian New Year (Noruz), the arrival of April opens up a new chapter on international tourist arrivals to the country, AGI said.

Rich and modern in the north, but crowded and chaotic in the south, Tehran is usually ‘the first city’ visited by European groups, coming mostly from Germany, France, and Italy.        

At the moment, there are only 130 four- or five-star hotels in Iran, but plans are underway that will bring the number close to 270, and the number of visitors to 10 million by 2019. Last year, the country was visited by 5.2 million people, the report says.

Last September, Mastercard Global Destinations Cities Index ranked Tehran ninth among the top ten fastest growing destination cities in the world, witnessing a growth of 12.98 percent in terms of the international overnight visitor arrivals.

Tehran embraces a matchless patchwork of Iranian history and architecture such as Golestan Palace, Grand Bazaar, Treasury of National Jewels, National Museum of Iran, Glass & Ceramic Museum, Masoudieh Palace, Sarkis Cathedral, Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, Carpet Museum of Iran.

The list is not over, the metropolis of over 12 million inhabitants also hosts other singularly beautiful museums such as the Museum of the time, the Film Museum, the Post Museum but “are often unknown even to the city inhabitants.”

PHOTO: An open-top double-decker tourist bus passes by Azadi Tower in western Tehran on March 23, 2017.

AFM/MG