TEHRAN - Iranian arrivals in Georgia has decreased 34.5 percent in October from a year earlier, according to data compiled by the National Statistics Office of Georgia.

A total of 12,792 Iranian nationals visited Georgia last October that shows a 34.5 percent decrease year on year, Mehr reported on Sunday.

The country welcomed 120,978 travelers from Armenia, 119,540 from Azerbaijan, 118,252 from Russia, 86,726 from Turkey, and 19,452 from Ukraine, the report added.  

Deputy tourism minister Vali Teymouri said in October that the country’s travel balance remained positive in the first half of the current Iranian calendar year (started March 21).

“Getting over the last year’s economic shock and experiencing relative economic improvement let 4,258,944 people travel abroad in the first six months of this year, which represents a 15.95 percent increase [year on year],” the official said.

He put the number of international arrivals at 4,998,215 for the six-month period, noting a 26 percent increase in comparison with the same period last year. 

The official forecasted the rise would continue in the second half of the Iranian calendar year. 

AFM/MG