TEHRAN - Direct flights between Iran and Venezuela will begin on March 21, concurrent with the Iranian new year, amid hopes to buttress tourism between the two nations.

“The passenger flights from Tehran to Caracas will begin on March 21,” the president of Conviasa airlines Ramon Velazquez told HispanTV on Sunday.

Venezuela’s flagship airline wants to bring Iranian tourists to Venezuela via 13-hour flights.

Despite the long distance between the two, Iranian vacationers are offered visa-free entry to Venezuelan soil to encourage tourism. “Iranian nationals do not need a visa to enter Venezuela at present,” the official noted.

Velazquez called Venezuela a “strategic destination” for Iran, saying “tourism is going to have big importance, above all else,” Al-Monitor reported.

Iran and Venezuela enjoy close relations, which are dominantly focused on economics. Conviasa began cargo flights between Tehran and Caracas in 2019 to transport medicine as well as industrial products, according to Velazquez. Iran has also sent multiple fuel tankers to Venezuela in recent years. In 2020, an Iranian supermarket opened in Caracas.

The primary purpose of the Conviasa flights beginning in March is tourism. On March 2, a group of Iranian tourist operators will fly to Caracas to identify tourist sites and deliberate with Venezuelan tourist authorities, according to Velazquez.

Over the past couple of months, officials of the two countries have discussed ways to expand tourism ties including sharing traveling know-how, as well as holding exhibits and fam tours.

Last November,  Iran’s deputy minister of Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts, and Tourism Ali-Asghar Shalbafian discussed tourism ties with Venezuela’s Tourism and Foreign Trade Minister Ali Padron Paredes. 

Shalbafian stated widening cooperation with Venezuela is high on the agenda for the Islamic Republic as he briefed Iran’s efforts focusing on both the coronavirus and post-pandemic eras. The Iranian official said Tehran is ready to hold joint exhibits and feminization tours for travel agents.

Iran expects to reap a bonanza from its numerous tourist spots such as bazaars, museums, mosques, bridges, bathhouses, madrasas, mausoleums, churches, towers, and mansions, of which 26 are inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list.

AFM