Tehran, Iran, February 17
By Mehdi Sepahvand - Trend:
The exchange of tourists between Iran and Thailand has been on the rise since early 2015, an Iranian tourism official said.
"In 2015, as soon as news broke out indicating political developments related to Iran's nuclear deal, we witnessed a 30-percent growth in the number of Iranian tourists visiting Thailand," Homer Baraghani, a marketing representative at the Tourism Authority of Thailand told Trend on the sidelines of the Tehran International Tourism Exhibition.
The 2015 was a diplomatically busy year for Iran, as it was engaged in intense talks with the group 5+1 (the US, UK, France, Russia, and China, plus Germany) to hammer out a comprehensive deal on its nuclear program.
The deal was reached in June 14, 2015 and put into force on January 16, 2016, curbing Iran's nuclear program and in return lifting economic sanctions which had strictly limited Iran's business relations with the world.
There has been a growth of eight percent in the number of Thai people visiting Iran in the meantime, Baraghani added.
He pointed out that as more airline companies such as the Thai Airways launch flights to Iran, the easier it will be for people on both sides to travel to the other country, hoping to see further boost in the exchange of tourists.
Iranians pick Thailand mostly for leisure visits.
While Iranian individuals pick Thailand mostly for leisure visits, businessmen on both sides are also seeking to improve mutual trade.
In early February, 33 Thai companies from food industries, clothing, fashion, and domestic appliance fields visited Iran to explore the market and ease trade with Iran.