Iran’s world heritage sites generated around 59 billion rials ($1.7 million) during the two-week New Year holiday. Nearly 1.9 million domestic tourists and 26,419 foreigners visited the country’s 19 world heritage sites during the Norouz holidays (March 20-April 1). The sites earned about 54 billion rials ($1.55 million) from the tickets sold to domestic tourists. Visits by foreign travelers generated over 5.3 billion rials ($152,000), Mehr News Agency reported. More than 456,400 tourists visited the ruins of Persepolis in Fars Province, making the Achaemenid-era site the most visited historical heritage site in the country during the annual holiday season. The entry fees were 30,000 rials ($0.87) for Iranians and 200,000 rials ($5.8) for foreigners. Normally, around 30% of the revenue is deposited with the treasury, while the rest is given to provincial offices of Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization responsible for ensuring that every world heritage site receives its due share. However, as the news agency says the sites rarely — if ever — receive their fair share. With 19 world heritage sites, Iran boasts the highest number of UNESCO-listed historical sites in the Middle East.
