Inbound Tourists Up 30%

Recent data from Iran's Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization indicating a hike in the number of tourists to Iran in the current Iranian year (began March 21) has raised eyebrows given last year's downturn, but officials assure that the figures are reliable. 
The statistics illustrated that 1.44 million foreign tourists traveled to Iran during spring (March 21-June 21) marking a 30% rise from last year's figures for the same period.  
This is while during the whole last year, the number of inbound travelers grew by a meager 4%, and the year before had seen a negative growth rate.  
The relatively large increase within a short time span seems surprising and has cast doubts on the integrity of ICHHTO's reports.