TEHRAN – The visa-free tourist travel agreement between Iran and Russia has led to an increase in Russian tourism companies visiting Iran, an Iranian tourism expert has said. 

Mostafa Shafiei Shakib stated that the cancellation of group visas has facilitated this increase in visits.

However, the Russian travel market for Iran has not yet reached its full potential, especially when compared to China, he added. 

More time and advertising are necessary to increase the number of Russian tourists traveling to Iran, he suggested. 

Some 22 Russian tourism companies had arrived in Iran, constituting the first "non-governmental tourist group" from Russia, he announced. 

“This group came to Iran as a result of the bilateral agreement, allowing for the free cancellation of group visas, and as such will be the largest Russian tour operator in Iran since the cessation of group travel.”

Over the course of their 10-day trip, the group will visit Tehran, Kashan, Isfahan, Yazd and Shiraz, taking the train from Isfahan to Tehran, he noted. 

He also expressed his hopes that the group will not only become better acquainted with Iran's rich cultural landscape but also survey its infrastructure and tourism services so that they may plan future trips with more precision. 

In explaining the choice of destinations for Russian tourists, Shakib stated that he had taken into account the interests of tourists and Russian individuals, as well as the country's existing infrastructure and resources, in order to create an itinerary that would offer a remarkable historical sightseeing route.

He expressed his optimism that the Iran-Russia tourism partnership could revivify the struggling Iranian tourism industry. 

“Due to the constraints on European tourists' travel to Iran, the tourism industry can be saved by establishing strong ties with Russia.”

Since the start of October 2023, the group travel visa between Iran and Russia, which aimed to facilitate and strengthen tourism between the two countries, has been cancelled. Some experts predict that due to Russia's limitations on international travel, caused by its war with Ukraine, Russian tourists could turn towards Iran as an alternative travel destination. This reasoning is reinforced by the cancellation of group visas. 

While there are no official statistics on the number of Russian tourists visiting Iran after the cancellation of group visas, reports from early September this year suggest that Iran has become an attractive destination for Russian tourists. Ria Novosti reported that according to Megafon data, a Russian mobile operator, and information provided by tourists traveling from Russia to other countries, interest in traveling to Iran during summer 2023 grew by approximately 115 percent. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia saw a growth of 123 percent.

SAB/