TEHRAN – Iranian travel expert Ebrahim Pourfaraj has said the country will see a considerable increase in international visitors next autumn compared to previous seasons this year.

The former head of the Iranian Tour Operators Association on Tuesday said there will be a change in the number of foreign nationals visiting the country, ISNA reported.

“Although we didn’t have many [inbound] tours in the summer, the number of requests to travel to Iran in the fall is high.”

He even anticipated a further boost for foreign arrivals in the upcoming spring season next year, the report said.

“There are problems in the path of foreign tourists, which we hope to be resolved in the near future,” Pourfaraj said.

“Iran’s tourism has been in crisis for various reasons since 2019 and it is expected to take about four years to almost return to pre-pandemic levels,” he added.

 On July 30, Iran announced all remaining COVID travel restrictions such as pre-departure test requirements had been lifted for passengers entering the country. ISNA said, based on its recent interviews with other travel insiders, most requests to travel to Iran in the fall and spring of next year are from China, and tourists from European countries are gradually traveling in very small groups or individually.

On July 30, Iran announced all remaining COVID travel restrictions, such as pre-departure test requirements, had been lifted for passengers entering the country. The decision came almost three years after the first COVID lockdown measures were imposed in the country.

The Islamic Republic welcomed 986,652 foreign nationals during the same period last year, and a 43 percent rise may indicate the country’s recovering from a previous travel slump caused by COVID restrictions.

Over the past couple of years, Iran has set its sights on attracting visitors, mostly from neighboring countries. To underpin tourism, the country is currently working on a proposal to scrap visa requirements for passport holders of 60 countries, including the neighboring states, the deputy tourism minister, Ali-Asghar Shalbafian, said earlier this year.

Based on available data, Iran’s medical tourism revenues reached $1 billion during the past Iranian calendar year (ended on March 20). People from the neighboring countries, including Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Oman, Bahrain, Armenia, and Tajikistan, constitute the lion’s share of medical tourists arriving in the country.

The Islamic Republic 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