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Iran’s international flights rise by 68 percent

Business Materials 26 August 2014 22:04 (UTC +04:00)
The number of international flights to and from Iran has increased by 68 percent in the fifth calendar month of current Iranian year (July 23 - August 22).
Iran’s international flights rise by 68 percent

Tehran, Iran, August 26

By Milad Fashtami - Trend:

The number of international flights to and from Iran has increased by 68 percent in the fifth calendar month of current Iranian year (July 23 - August 22). A total of 7,192 international flights landed in or took off from Iranian airports in the mentioned month, Iran's ISNA News Agency reported on August 25.

A total number of 36,761 flights also passed Iran's air space in the mentioned period, which 9.2 percent more than the same period previous year.

The Deputy Director of Iranian Airports Holding Company Ebrahim Shoushtari said the number of flights crossing Iranian sky has also increase significantly in the past month due the important developments in the region.

"Some 21,840 flights crossed Iranian air space in the mentioned months, which is 8,831 flights more than same month previous year," he explained.

A rise in the number of international flights operated in Iran follows a boost in the number of tourists visiting the country.

The number of tourists visiting Iran from the beginning of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21) so far has been increased by three times compared to same period previous year.

Iran's First Vice President, Ishaq Jahangiri, said that absorbing foreign tourists play an import role in boosting the country's economy, Iran's IRNA News Agency reported on Aug. 25.

"The government will allocate special facilities to investors active in the tourism industry," he explained.

It was previously reported that the number of European tourists visiting Iran increased by 240 percent in the first 45 days of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21 - May 5).

Masoud Soltanifar, Iran's Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization (ICHHTO), said that Iran's share out of the world's total $1.25 trillion tourism industry is very little.

"It is while Iran is among world's top ten countries in terms of tourist attractions," he said.

He went on to note that Iran is world's 17th country in terms of safety.
About 4 million foreigners travel to Iran annually, but Soltanifar explained that only one million people spend enough money in Iran and to be considered as a "tourist." The country currently attracts predominantly medical and religious visitors, although this is all expected to change as Iran develops new relationships with foreign nations.

Iran's tourism industry is booming, with more foreign travelers visiting the country than ever before. So much so that Iran's President Hassan Rouhani is hoping to attract 10 million international tourists each year.

"Iran needs to improve its infrastructure and transportation system to absorb more tourists," he added.

Darvish Amiri, an official with Iran's Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization, said on Feb. 21 that some four million foreign tourists traveled to Iran in 2013, IRIB reported.
He added that the figure was very small compared to a total 1.15 billion tourist traveling around the world in 2013.

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