TEHRAN - Iran’s outbound tourism fell by 45 percent during the New Year (Noruz) holidays (March 21-April 5) in comparison to the same period last year, a tourism official has said.

Speaking to IRNA, Hormatollah Rafiei didn’t mention figures for the number of travelers, citing sharp rises in the value of foreign currencies against rial the main reason behind the decline.

Based on statistics released by the Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts, and Tourism Organization, a total of 5,900,381 Iranians traveled overseas during the first nine months of the past Iranian calendar year, indicating 30 percent decline compared with the same period last year.

The nation makes hundreds of thousands of domestic trips during the almost two-week New Year holidays, when most businesses and workplaces are closed, as are schools.

AFM/MQ/MG