TEHRAN – Iran hosted over five million foreign nationals during the first eight months of the current Iranian calendar year (started March 21, 2018), up 57 percent year on year, as the U.S. has snapped sanctions back in place to cripple Iran’s economy.

“A total of 5.520 million travelers visited Iran during the first eight months of the year, which shows a 57 percent increase year on year,” CHTN quoted a senior tourism official on Wednesday.

“Tourism is one of the means that help [foreign] people see realities (what is going on in the country), and despite [sanctions-related] pressures in recent months, foreign tourists are more inclined to visit Iran and getting acquainted with its people,” Vali Teymouri said.

U.S. sanctions together with its anti-Iran propaganda campaign, however, has lessened Western travelers to the Islamic Republic but the country is doing its best to attract more visitors from neighbors.

Over the past couple of years, Air France, British Airways and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines have stopped flights to Tehran due to what they publicized as “negative results and financial outlook.”

The 2019 Travel Risk Map, which shows the risk level around the world, puts Iran among countries with “insignificant risk”, a category where the UK, Denmark, Switzerland, Norway, and Finland are placed in.

AFM/MQ/MG