TEHRAN – Iranian authorities have announced that the COVID-19 negative PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) test is required for all Iraqi travelers to enter the country, IRNA reported on Tuesday. 

All Iraqi passengers coming to Imam Khomeini International Airport (IKIA) from today need to provide proof they have tested negative for coronavirus to gain entry, the report added.

Although issuing visas on arrival for tourists has been suspended, Iraqis with Iranian spouses and their children, Iraqis residing in Iran or those seeking medical treatment in Iran, as well as students and businessmen can travel to the country following the new regulations, the report said.

Last week, new regulations and instructions for traveling to Iran were announced.

Not issuing visas on arrival for tourists, specific mandates for testing, tracing, receiving of a traveler test/vaccine certificate, identifying infected travelers, and removing them from the travel ecosystem and putting them in quarantine were among the regulations.

Iran has suffered an average 15.8 percent fall in foreign arrivals during the first three months of 2020 compared to the same period last year, according to data released by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) that analyzes the impact of the COVID-19 on international tourism.

The worldwide outbreak of COVID-19 has brought the world to a standstill, and tourism has been the worst affected of all major economic sectors.

Back in March, the UN specialized agency for tourism announced that it expected international tourist arrivals would be down by 20 percent to 30 percent in 2020 when compared with 2019 figures.

Iranian deputy tourism minister Vali Teymouri has said that international tourism could be recovered soon because it is mostly relying on potential travelers and pilgrims from the neighboring countries.

“Given the policies of the country’s tourism industry over the past two years to focus on tourism markets in the neighboring countries, the possibility of recovering and reviving international tourism in the shortest possible time is predictable,” Teymouri told the Tehran Times in May.

Iran expects to reap a bonanza from its numerous tourist spots such as bazaars, museums, mosques, bridges, bathhouses, madrasas, mausoleums, churches, towers, and mansions, of which 24 being inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list. Under the 2025 Tourism Vision Plan, it aims to increase the number of tourist arrivals from 4.8 million in 2014 to 20 million in 2025.

The latest available data show eight million tourists visited the Islamic Republic during the first ten months of the past Iranian calendar year (started March 21, 2019).

ABU/MG