TEHRAN – The number of Iranian travelers who visited Russia during the first half of 2017 has witnessed 9 percent year-on-year growth, according to Rostourism - Russia’s Federal Agency for Tourism.

“The demand for trips to Russia has been growing all over the world. In the first six months of 2017, Chinese tourists made 32% more trips to Russia as compared to the same period in 2016. The number of trips made by Japanese tourists grew by 14%, while Iranian tourists made 9% more trips,” TASS quoted Rostourism Chief Oleg Safonov as saying on Wednesday.

Roughly 67,000 Iranians visited Russia in 2016, a solid growth of 72 percent compared to a year earlier, Russia Beyond the Headlines reported in April.

On March 28, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin inked a visa-free agreement for tourist groups in Moscow. Based on the agreement tour groups of 5 to 50 people heading to Russia from Iran or vice versa will be granted a visa-free stay of up to 15 days.

Back in June, Iran’s tourism chief Zahra Ahmadipour urged the need to achieve a balance between the inbound and outbound tourist flows that currently exist between the two neighboring countries.

AFM/MG