TEHRAN – The number of Iranians who stayed in lodgings across Iran during Noruz holidays (March 20-April 1) rose 67 percent in comparison to the same period last year, Iran’s tourism chief Morteza Rahmani-Movahhed announced in a press conference on Monday.

Number of travelers to South Khorasan, Kermanshah and Kohkiloyeh-Boyer Ahmad provinces increased this year, he added.

The number of flights to the United Arab Emirates decreased 18 percent and the decrease was 10 percent for Turkey. The number of internal flights, though, increased 9 percent, he said. 

“Over 100 million people visited tourist spots during Noruz holidays, which increased 67 percent in comparison to the same period last year,” he said.

The head of Road Maintenance and Transportation Organization, Davoud Keshavarzian, also made a short speech about Noruz travels.

He said that over eight million Iranians used public transportation during Noruz and 60 percent of them used buses.

“Over 820,000 travelers passed the borders of Iraq, Turkey, and Azerbaijan and 33 percent of them were foreigners who entered Iran,” he said.

Three million Iranians traveled by airplane, an increase of 12 percent in comparison to the last year, he added.

About 1.6 million passengers travelled by train during the holidays, he mentioned.

SB/