Arvand Free Trade Zone, located in southwest Iran, is ready to resume a visa-free program for Iraqi citizens visiting Abadan, Khorramshahr and Minoo Island without the need to obtain visas, the head of Iran's Free Trade Zone Organization said.
"We expect the entry of up to 1,000 Iraqi visitors per day," Mana News quoted Esmail Zamani as saying on Tuesday.
Arvand FTZ abolished visa requirements for travelers from many countries in December 2017. However, local authorities decided to halt the scheme in October, following a sharp drop in the value of the national currency and "lack of suitable infrastructures".
More than 500,000 Iraqi tourists have visited Arvand FTZ since December 2017.
Local authorities announced in recent week that they are working to enhance public transportation services in FTZ, which was reportedly a key problem facing Iraqi visitors.
"Talks are also underway with the Iraqi government to ease Iraqis' entry to Iran," said Ali Mousavi, Arvand FTZ's deputy for business development.
Arvand Free Trade Zone is located in southern Iran with an area of 37,400 hectares and at the confluence of Karoun and Arvand rivers flowing near Iraq and in northwest Persian Gulf.
Iraq: Largest Source of Tourists to Iran
Latest data show Iraqi tourists accounted for the highest number of foreigners who visited Iran during the seven months to Oct. 22.
A total of 1,926,310 Iraqis visited Iran in the seven-month period, followed by 989,836 Azerbaijanis, 557,579 Afghans, 483,302 Turks and 159,728 Pakistanis.
This is while the number of tourists from Iraq stood at 1,356,185 in the last Iranian year (March 2017-18) and 1,398,201 in the year before (March 2016-17).
Iraqi citizens have traditionally constituted the largest group of inbound tourists visiting Iran, but their main purpose of travel to the Islamic Republic has mostly been to visit religious and holy sites. However, Iranian authorities have been increasingly taking measures to expand their itinerary in recent months.
