"Iran is among 10 attractive countries in terms of attracting tourists," Soltanifar said on Sunday.
Soltanifar noted that 4.8 million tourists visited Iran last year, and said, "Half of the foreign tourists visited the country's holy cities of Mashhad and Qom in the same period."
He said that during the first half of the current Iranian year (March 21-September 22), the number of foreign tourists showed a 200 percent growth compared with last year's corresponding period.
He noted that 90 percent of the foreign tourists come to visit Iran with the purpose of natural, historical and religious tourism, adding, "Only 10 percent of foreign tourists come to Iran to attend conferences."
Soltanifar noted that Iran has over one million historical and natural sites, adding that only 31,100 or nearly three percent of them have been registered.
Last month, the ICHHTO chief said that the foreign tourists brought around $5.5 billion of revenues to the country despite all sanctions and limitations.
In March, Soltanifar invited foreigners to visit Iran's various tourist destinations, and stressed that the country enjoys high level of security for the foreign tourists.
