Iran claims 52% increase in foreign tourist arrivals
The Deputy Minister of Tourism of the Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization announced the arrival of seven million 800 thousand foreign tourists to the country and said: "Studies indicate a 52 percent growth in tourist arrivals to the country last year."
According to the government information website, Vali Teymouri said on Thursday, May 2: "In 2017, we witnessed the arrival of five million and one hundred thousand foreign tourists to the country."
According to 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, a decrease of 1.5 percent and 7 percent compared to 2016 and 2015, respectively.
Of course, the Iranian rial lost about 70 percent of its value against the dollar in 2018, and this, in turn, could be an additional incentive for tourists to enter Iran.
Most foreign tourists enter Iran for medical purposes, visiting religious sites, and purchasing cheap goods.
Timouri added that our studies show that in the 15 days of Nowruz 2019, we are witnessing a 16.75 percent increase in the number of foreign tourists entering the country compared to the same period last year.
He did not specify from which countries these tourists had traveled to Iran.
Regarding tourism revenue, he said, "Given that tourism satellite accounts have not yet been compiled in the country, I cannot announce an exact number, but the World Tourism Organization has announced the amount of spending per foreign tourist in the region where we are located at $1,375."
Recently, Ali Asghar Monesan, head of the Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization, announced that in 2017, the direct value of Iranian tourism to the country's GDP was 392 trillion rials, which is equivalent to $11.8 billion in revenue (in state currency).
Source: Radio Farda
