TEHRAN – Chairman of the Iranian Association of Travel Agents Khormatullah Rafiei said that Iran’s new unilateral visa-waiver strategy has significantly boosted the tourism sector.
Rafiei stressed to ILNA that the visa waiver program implemented earlier this year was one of the most commendable measures taken to boost the tourism sector.
He stressed the private sector’s demand that the government continue to remove barriers to the tourism industry, including maintaining and expanding the Visa Waiver Programme.
Iran has unilaterally waived visa requirements for citizens of around 30 countries. Notably, nationals of Lebanon, Venezuela and Malaysia, who previously required a visa on arrival, can now travel to Iran visa-free under a new government directive. The move coincides with private sector requests for visa exemptions for more countries to develop tourism.
Rafiei acknowledged that some in the tourism industry are opposed to unilateral visa waivers but supported the government’s decision, arguing that removing visa requirements was essential to remove barriers and attract more tourists to Iran.
While the 30 countries currently participating in the Visa Waiver Program may not be major tourist destinations or destinations for Iran, Rafiei believes many of them have the potential to become important partners in the tourism sector.
He noted that private sector efforts are aimed at boosting Iran’s tourism industry by attracting more tourists, with one of the main challenges being visa requirements, and removing them is seen as an important step towards achieving this goal.
Rafiei compared Iran’s situation to other tourist-friendly countries, noting that France attracts 90 million tourists a year and Turkey has welcomed around 55 million tourists since the pandemic, mainly due to extensive visa waiver agreements.
He stressed that visa exemptions will not only simplify travel and reduce costs, but also remove many obstacles to tourism growth.
In April, Tourism Minister Ezzatullah Zarghami said Iran offers visa-free entry to roughly half the world’s population, a total of about 4 billion people. “Currently, half the world’s population can travel to Iran without a visa.”
“Of course, the original proposal was to abolish visas for citizens of 60 countries, but the government agreed to abolish visas for citizens of 33 countries. This abolition opens the door for half the world’s population to travel to Iran without a visa.”
The Visa Waiver Program has been approved for India, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Indonesia, Brunei, Japan, Singapore, Cambodia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Brazil, Peru, Cuba, Mexico, Bolivia, Venezuela, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Croatia, Belarus, Lebanon, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Mauritania, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Mauritius and Seychelles.
In addition, the Islamic Republic of Iran has previously cancelled visits to Turkey, the Republic of Azerbaijan, Oman, China, Armenia, Lebanon, Syria and other countries, implementing various measures including unilateral, bilateral and group visa cancellations. Airport visa cancellations have also been implemented in some cases. This privilege was granted to group tourists from Russia under a reciprocal agreement signed between Tehran and Moscow.
According to available data compiled by the Ministry of Tourism, over 6 million foreign tourists visited Iran by air, land and sea in the last Iranian calendar year that ended on March 19. This figure represents a significant year-on-year increase when compared to the approximately 4.23 million tourists who visited the Islamic Republic of Iran in the previous year (1401).
The Islamic Republic is hoping to make big bucks from its numerous tourist sites, including bazaars, museums, mosques, bridges, baths, madrasahs, mausoleums, churches, towers and mansions, 27 of which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
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