Iran to attract more tourists this year, official

Iran's Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization says that the country has posted a growth of 48 percent in foreign arrivals in Nowruz over the corresponding period last year.

Manouchehr Jahanian, the organization's deputy head for tourism affairs, told reporters on the sidelines of a tourism conference in the southern city of Bushehr that the number of foreign tourists arriving in Iran on the days leading to Nowruz (March 15-April first) rose by 48 percent over last year, Fars News Agency reported.

  

He said that the number has increased the country's hopes to attract 7.5 million tourists by the end of this year (that is the year to March 2013), adding appropriate measures have been taken so far to reach this goal.

  

The tourism official said efforts to ease visa issuance and introduce Iran's tourist attractions are behind a rise of 48 percent in the number of foreigners visiting Iran.

  

He said that the country is trying to standardize the places designed to host foreign tourists, adding we need to re-organize travel agencies and tourist resorts for our foreign guests.

Villages across the country which have been identified as tourism targets are being re-established to absorb nature travelers, adding efforts are also being taken to remove visa requirements for 60 countries from around the world, he said.

Jahanian concluded that Iran, especially its private sector, has plans to make its presence felt more in foreign exhibitions to introduce the country's tourism potential.

Source: jamejam online