Veep: Number Of Foreign Tourists Visiting Iran Showing 200% Rise

Tehran, Aug 309, IRNA -- Iranian Vice-President and Head of Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization (ICHHTO) Massoud Soltanifar expressed pleasure that more foreign tourists are showing interest in traveling to the country recently despite the US-led sanctions. ˈThe number of foreign tourists visiting Iran in the first five months of the current Iranian calendar year,ˈ Soltanifar said in a meeting with investors of tourism sector in Western Azarbaijan province on Friday. He noted that 90 percent of the foreign tourists come to visit Iran with the purpose of natural, historical and religious tourism, adding, ˈOnly 10 percent of foreign tourists come to Iran to attend conferences.ˈ Soltanifar further noted that the number of foreign tourist visiting Iran during March 21, 2014-August 22, 2014 showed 200 percent growth as compared with last yearˈs corresponding period. Soltanifar noted that Iran has over one million historical and natural sites that only 31,100 or nearly three percent of them have been registered. In March, Soltanifar invited foreigners to visit Iranˈs various tourist destinations, and stressed that the country enjoys high level of security for the foreign tourists. ˈThe security for tourists is in an ideal state in the country,ˈ Soltanifar said. He pointed to the latest figures released by the World Tourism Organization (WTO), and said, ˈTouristsˈ requests to visit Iran in the past months has had a remarkable growth.ˈ The senior official noted that the growth is the result of easing some of the anti-Iran sanctions in the past months which has taken place as a result of interim agreement reached between Tehran and the Group 5+1 (the five permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany) in November 2013. Iran and the Group 5+1 representatives had several sessions of talks in Vienna March 18-19. On November 24, Iran and the five permanent United Nations Security Council members sealed a six-month Joint Plan of Action to lay the groundwork for the full resolution of the West’s decade-old dispute with Iran over the latterˈs nuclear energy program./end