TEHRAN – Foreign arrivals from Bazargan border, shared with Turkey in northwestern Iran, surged 57 percent in the first four months of the current Iranian calendar year (started on March 21) from a year earlier, director of the border terminal has said.

A total of 617,292 people, of whom 179,104 were foreign nationals, crossed the border into Iranian soil during the four-month period, Jaber Akbarzadeh told IRNA on Monday.

The number of foreign nationals who left Iran crossing the border added up to 156,801, which shows an 88 percent hike, the official announced.

Talking about outbound Iranian passengers, he said the border terminal has registered 142,807 Iranians going to Turkey during the four months.

Meanwhile, 4,173 passenger busses have moved to the other side during the period, at an average of 34 busses per day, Akbarzadeh said.

Iran topped the list of international arrivals in Turkey in the first two mounts of the past Iranian calendar year (March 21-May 21, 2018). Over 350,000 Iranians visited Turkey in the two-month period, which contributed to 11.7 percent share of its total arrivals.

In January-November 2018, 1.894 million Iranian tourists visited Turkey, 18.17 percent less than the same period in 2017, according to data compiled by Turkey’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

Nearly 7.8 million foreign nationals visited Iran during the past Iranian calendar year 1397 (ended on March 20) that shows a 52.5 percent increase year on year. The Islamic Republic hosted 5.1 million travelers in 1396.

AFM/MG