TEHRAN – Iran’s tourism chief has said the country aims to deepen tourism ties with East Asian states.

Iran is contemplating easing visa restrictions for tourist trips to Japan, South Korea, and China,” Tasnim quoted Zahra Ahmadipour as saying on Wednesday.

Ahmadipour, who presides over the Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Organization, said that delegations from the aforementioned countries are scheduled to visit Iran in order to negotiate modalities of the tourism enhancement.

“We will do our best to [persuade Japan to] facilitate its visa regime for Iranian nationals,” Ahmadipour said, adding that Iran should also try to attract more Japanese tourists to catch up with other countries frequented by the Japanese.

She also unveiled plans for negotiations with Chinese tourism officials on the sidelines of the 22nd UNWTO General Assembly to be held in the city of Chengdu in September.

Referring to Korean products such as household appliances and cars that are well known to almost all Iranian families, the official explained it would be fair to have more South Korean tourists in the country.

Following a landmark nuclear deal Tehran and world powers clinched in 2015, Iran is repeatedly named as a hot travel destination by a circle of international media outlets in terms of its rich history, picturesque sceneries, traditions, cuisine and hospitable people.

At the moment European travelers from countries including France, Italy and Germany, who account for the majority of Western tourists, can now get visas on arrival in Tehran, and at the main sites they mingle with sightseers from China, Japan and elsewhere.

PHOTO: Chinese tourists clad in regional Iranian attire pose for a photo while standing atop Falak-ol-Aflak Castle, a Sassanid-era fortress that dominates the city of Khorramabad in Lorestan province, western Iran.

AFM/MG