Tourists coming to Iran increased by 40%: ICHTO Official

Deputy head of Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization (ICHTO), Vali Teimouri said on Tuesday that the number of foreign tourists entering the country increased by 40% this spring compared to the same period last year.

In an interview with IRNA, Vali Teimouri said that In the spring of this year (Iranian year), two million tourists came to Iran and visited the country's tourist resorts, historical monuments and spectacular sight-seeings.

He added that surveys show that the average income from arrival of every tourist is about $ 1,357.

Meanwhile,  Ali Asghar Mounesan, the head of Cultural Heritage, Handcrafts and Tourism Organization said that about 7.8 million tourists traveled to Iran in the past Iranian year, ended on March 20, 2019, registering 52.5 percent growth compared to the preceding year which was 5.1 million tourists.

 About 7.8 million tourists traveled to Iran in the past Iranian year, ended on March 20, 2019, registering 52.5 percent growth compared to the preceding year which was 5.1 million tourists, said Ali Asghar Mounesan, adding that "In the past Iranian year sanctions on the tourism sector were also affected by the cancellation or reduction of foreign direct flights, but fortunately the regional markets and China were placed on our agenda to attract foreign tourists and neutralized the effects of sanctions,'

**** Iran; on limelight for religious and health tourism

Iran is on limelight for the religious and health tourists owing to the million-strong figure of pilgrims and health tourists coming to Iran every year.

Iranian tourism official Mohammad-Ebrahim Larijani highlighted the tourism capacities of Iran, saying that Iran is a favorite destination for Religious and Health tourists.

Medical tourism refers to people coming to Iran to undergo medical treatment.


According to IRNA, Iran is gradually becoming a destination for foreign medical tourists. Hospitals in Iranian cities offer medical and health care services for foreign medical tourists.


Patients from Kuwait, Qatar and other countries prefer Iran for the medical treatment which is providing facilities more competitive than the European countries.

*** Number of foreign health tourists to Iran grow 10-fold

Over the past 10 years, the number of foreign tourists visiting Iran for medical treatment and health tourism has increased 10 times, Iran's Deputy Minister of Health and Medical Education said.

"Every year, 300,000 foreign tourists travel to Iran for medical treatment, with a total of $ 1.2 billion worth of revenues," said Iraj Harirchi,   Iran's Deputy Minister of Health and Medical Education in the inauguration ceremony of the 2nd Economic Cooperation Organization Confobition (conference+ exhibition) on Health Tourism.

He named the nationals of neighboring countries, including Iraq, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, and Pakistan, as the main health tourists coming to Iran.

Harirchi added: "Our goal is to turn Iran into a center for health services in the region, and we can provide health and medicasl treatment services for the citizens of neighboring and Muslim countries."

He said: More than 500 million people in neighboring countries and the ECO member state received health services, saying: "Development of health tourism will lead to a sustainable and friendly relationship with Iran's neighbors."

Iran's Deputy Minister of Health and Medical Education added: Iran intends to allocate a large portion of the 20 million targeted tourists to health tourism tourists in the 20-year macro plan, providing health care and health services, develop relations with its neighbors.

News ID 190551

Your Comment

You are replying to: .
5 + 7 =