TEHRAN— Iran has recorded about 2.9 million foreign tourist arrivals over the past 11 months, tourism minister Ezzatollah Zarghami said on Tuesday, as many pandemic entry restrictions were eased.

“With the support of President Ebrahim Raisi, [the issuance of the tourist] visas has been resumed and 2,900,000 people entered Iran in less than a year. And this amount is growing and increasing,” Zarghami said in a televised speech.

Last September, Iran initiated preliminary steps for a bounce-back, restarting the issuance of tourist visas following a 20-month hiatus, and easing COVID-19 protocols for fully vaccinated passengers.

It came when the tourism businesses faced a very complex situation due to COVID restrictions. There was a partial or even total closure of tourist accommodation during the toughest months of the lockdown, so the spring seasons were completely lost. Many travel insiders, hoteliers, and tour operators faced big dilemmas such as bankruptcy, unemployment, debts, and the prospects of not being competitive on the international level.

The tourism minister said the rate of tourist arrivals, concerning coronavirus restrictions, is ahead of some international estimates.

Regarding domestic travels, Zarghami said the country has regained its pre-coronavirus status. “According to the forecasts of the World Tourism Organization, global tourism will return to the normal state (before the coronavirus pandemic) by the end of 2024. However, we returned to normal earlier than the forecasts of international organizations,” the minister said.

“Domestic travel has achieved some 40 percent increase compared to the pre-coronavirus period.”

Elsewhere in his remarks, the official used the context of anti-Iranian sentiment as a barrier to attract far more potential travelers.

“Designing an Iranophobia project and presenting a negative image of Iran in some media is one of the obstacles to attracting foreign tourists,” Zarghami said.

“We have many relative advantages and facilities that none of the countries in the region have.”

Long shunned by Western travelers, the Islamic Republic has steadily stepped-up efforts to use tourism, over the past couple of years, to help promote its international image battered by endless opposition mostly from the U.S.

Experts believe even before the pandemic, Iran’s tourism was already grappling with some challenges, on top of those Western “media propaganda” aimed at scaring potential travelers away from the Islamic Republic. They say Iran is still somehow “unknown” to many potential travelers due to such a “media war.”

The minister added one of the priorities that his ministry follows was to develop tourism ties with the neighboring countries.

“Our priority is to strengthen relations with neighboring countries and now we are pursuing the project of cheap overland travels with neighboring countries.”

Citizens from Iraq and Afghanistan were the main source of tourism for Iran from October 23 to December 22, 2021. Over the past couple of years, neighboring Iraq has been one of Iran’s most important markets for tourism and pilgrimage. In January, the deputy tourism chief Ali-Asghar Shalbafian announced that Iran had renewed arrangements to facilitate travels for Iraqi nationals. “For Iraqi tourists visiting Iran, a new system has been implemented to ensure their safety and comfort.”

Before the COVID pandemic, Iran tourism had constantly been growing, reaching more than eight million visitors in the Iranian calendar year 1398 (started March 21, 2019). That surge, however, helped prejudices to become thick and thin.

However, Iran’s trump card is that the country benefits from a wide variety of travel destinations ranging from seacoasts and lush green woods to towering mountains and harsh deserts. As a wallet-friendly destination with hospitable people, Iran has long been a desired destination for nature lovers, birdwatchers, powder chasers, culture devotees, pilgrims, museum-goers, foodies, adventurers, and medical travelers, to name a few.

Mass COVID-19 vaccinations, consecutive fam tours for foreign tour operators, easing travel procedures, and fresh strategies, altogether, suggest Iran is determined to experience a tourism rebound with a greater reliance on its numerous tourist spots of which 26 are UNESCO World Heritage, and above all, its welcoming people.

AM