Iran's tourist arrivals grow to over 8 million: Minister

Minister of Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Ali Asghar Mounesan said that a record number of 8 million tourists visited Iran during the first 10 months of the past Iranian calendar year which ended March 20, 2020 .

Mounesan made the remarks on Monday night during a visit to Shahroud city in Semnan province.

He said the number stood at 4.5 million three years ago.

He referred to the COVID19 outbreak as a major factor that caused the decline of the tourism industry in the country.

The minister also pointed to the remarkable ease of business in the tourism sector which unlike under industries demanded no big investments to flourish and when compared to other ministries, one could easily see creating jobs in the tourism sector needs remarkably lower funds.  

According to statistics, about 2.11 million tourists traveled to Iran from Oct. 23, 2019, to Jan. 20, indicating a monthly average of 650,000 visitors.