Tehran, Iran, July 29
Trend:
The number of Iranian tourists visiting Georgia has dropped by 50 percent that was caused by massive visa rejections at the country's borders, said Iranian ambassador in Georgia.
Mohammad Javad Ghavam Shahidi discussed the issue in an interview with Trend. "The following issue has reduced the interest of Iranians to visit Georgia, as most of the visa rejections at borders affected Iranians," he said.
In his words, Georgian border security officers randomly rejected Iranians arrival visa and not allowed them to enter the country.
"Denying Iranians to visit Georgia is not acceptable; however, if the Georgian side wants to make profits from Iranian tourists' visits, it should seriously change their approach and implement suitable measures within existing regulations," he said.
"The Iranian investors are not supported by Georgian government, and this creates problems. Many investors who come to Iranian embassy are facing problem with obtaining residency in Georgia," he said referring to the problems concerning Iranian capitals in Georgia.
"As a result of these policies in past year and a half, we have witnessed slowing of Iranian activities in the field of trade, residency and tourism in this country. We have held negotiations with Georgian side, and it was expected that implementation of new regulations were to be announced before rejecting Iranians to enter the country," he added.
"This situation has created problems for Iranian investments and this does not convey a good message to those Iranians who would like to invest in Georgia, as some of our citizens may face 30 to 40 percent loss of investment in the country. We think the good opportunity for Iranians activities and presence in Georgia is being lost," he noted.
He went on to say: "Iran and Georgia have good historical relations in the past and there are remarkable opportunities for cooperation and developing bilateral ties in the interest of the two countries."
According to the statistics international visitor arrivals provided by Georgia National Tourism Administration, Iranian tourists comprised 63.9 percent of all tourists visiting the country in 2018.