Iran Claims 52% Increase in Foreign Tourist Arrivals
The deputy director of tourism at the Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization announced the arrival of 7.8 million foreign tourists to the country and stated: “Studies indicate a 52 percent growth in tourist arrivals to the country last year.”
According to the government’s news agency, Vali Teymouri said on Thursday, April 2: “In 2017, we witnessed the arrival of 5.1 million foreign tourists to the country.”
Based on the latest statistics from the World Tourism Organization, the number of foreign tourists who entered Iran in 2017 (approximately equivalent to 2017) was 4.867 million people, which shows a decrease of 1.5 percent and 7 percent compared to 2016 and 2015 respectively.
Of course, the Iranian rial lost approximately 70 percent of its value against the dollar in 2018, which in turn could serve as a doubled incentive for tourists to enter Iran.
Most foreign tourists enter Iran for medical purposes, visiting religious sites, and purchasing inexpensive goods.
Teymouri added that our studies show that during the 15 days of Nowruz 2019, compared to the same period last year, we are witnessing a 16.75 percent growth in foreign tourist arrivals to the country.
He did not specify which countries these tourists traveled from to Iran.
Regarding tourism revenue, he said: “Since satellite accounts for tourism in the country have not yet been compiled, I cannot announce an exact figure in this regard, but the World Tourism Organization has stated the spending amount of each foreign tourist in the region where we are located at $1,375.”
Recently, Ali Asghar Mounesan, head of the Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization, announced that in 2017, the direct value of Iran’s tourism from the country’s gross domestic product was 392 trillion rials, equivalent to $11.8 billion in revenue (at the official exchange rate).
Source: Radio Farda
