Mashhad to Expand Tourism Ties With Iraq

Tourism officials from Iran's Khorasan Razavi Province and Iraq's Wasit Governorate reached agreements on strengthening ties particularly regarding pilgrimage to holy Shia Muslim sites during a meeting on Saturday. 
The Iraqi delegation met with their counterparts at the provincial office of Iran's Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization in Khorasan Razavi, Iran's key pilgrimage hub, to discuss the plans, CHTN reported. 
"Religious tourism is a strong potential that is capable of flourishing by drawing on the tourist market of the neighboring Iraq," Abolfazl Mokarramifar, head of the provincial ICHHTO, said. Thanks to the shared border in the west of Iran, Wasit sends numerous travelers to the country.  "This is a golden opportunity to pave the way for promoting religious trips across the borders," he said.