TEHRAN—Iran’s Minister of Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism has said the country’s tourism growth has been three times higher compared to the global average in the post-Covid era.

“The number of tourist arrivals has surged in the last two years due to the fact that we were facing some restrictions derived from the Corona pandemic,” Ezzatollah Zarghami stated.

The minister, however, didn’t provide any detail on the number of international arrivals in the country.

He made the remarks in an inauguration ceremony of 188 tourist projects in Iran, Mehr reported on Wednesday. The event took place on the occasion of World Tourism Day 2023, which falls on September 27.

Zarghami pointed out that the establishment of visa-free travel between Iran and five countries is on the agenda.

His deputy for tourism, Ali-Asghar Shalbafian, believes the rate of tourist arrivals in Iran, mainly from Iran’s neighboring countries, is “promising”.

“The course of attracting inbound passengers was promising so that from the first of the year to end of Shahrivar, three million and 354 thousand travelers entered the country, which shows a growth of 38% compared to a year earlier,” Shalbafian said in a press conference earlier this month.

He probably hinted at the country’s tourism revival as coronavirus restrictions have been eased, but remained way below pre-pandemic levels.

According to the latest United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) World Tourism Barometer, foreign tourist arrivals in Iran reached some 2.93 million between January and July 2023.

Although the country’s performance as a tourism destination is still far below that of 2019, which was before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is improving slightly compared to last year's statistics.

The average statistics of Iran’s tourism from January to August 2023 is 50% lower than the same period in 2019 based on the barometer that tracks the sector’s post-pandemic recovery throughout 2023 up to the end of July.

Accordingly, Iran attracted 181,423 foreign travelers in January; 327, 816 people in February; 363,547 in March; 381.769 in April, 537,837 in May; 551.142 in June; and 590, 350 in July.

Another statistic compiled by Iran’s tourism ministry indicates the country saw 3.35 million tourist arrivals in the first half of the current Iranian calendar year (started March 21), which soars 38 percent year on year.

The Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts, in close collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, seeks a border-easing strategy based on which it may unilaterally drop visa requirements for passport holders of 60 states, the official noted. The scheme recommends unilateral cancellation of visas with Muslim countries and neighboring states to increase international arrivals, the official said.

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 27 are inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list.

AFM