TEHRAN – Some six million foreign travelers visited Iran in the first half of the current Iranian calendar year (started March 21), a tourism official said on Wednesday.

The number shows 51 percent year-on-year growth in comparison with the same period last year, Mohammad Khayatan said.

The Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization Director Ali-Asghar Mounesan had previously referred to the growth, without mentioning specific figures.

Teemed from corner to corner with ancient bazaars, museums, mosques, monuments, gardens, historical sites, rich natural and rural landscapes, Iran hosts some of the world’s oldest cultural monuments, including 22 UNESCO World Heritage sites.

AFM/MQ/MG