A total of 4,704,509 Iranians left the country for foreign destinations during the first seven months of the current Iranian year (March 21-Oct. 22), indicating an 11% decline compared with the same period of last year.
According to Vali Teymouri, deputy head of Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization, Iraq, Turkey, the UAE, Georgia, Germany, Qatar and Saudi Arabia were the top destinations for Iranians during the period in a descending order.
As many as 10,524,952 Iranians travelled abroad during last year (March 2017-18), ISNA quoted Teymouri as saying.
A total of 4,739,413 foreigners travelled to Iran during the same seven months, registering a 56% growth compared with the same period of last year.
As such, the number of visitors to Iran outweighed the number of departures by 34,904 people during the period.
The decline in outbound tourism is mainly due to higher costs of travel packages due to the depreciation of Iranian rial, the rise in departure tax and costlier transportation.
The Iranian currency had lost nearly two-thirds of its value against major currencies from the beginning of the current year up to last month, though part of the loss has been recovered in recent weeks. This, however, has meant lower costs for travelers to the Islamic Republic.
According to Ali Asghar Mounesan, the head of Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicraft and Tourism Organization, in addition to hosting the largest number of outbound tourists, Iraq was also the biggest source of tourists to Iran during the seven-month period.
A total of 1,926,310 Iraqis visited Iran from March 21 to Oct. 22, followed by 989,836 Azerbaijani, 557,579 Afghans, 483,302 Turks and 159,728 Pakistanis.
This comes as 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).
A total of 959,653 and 981,200 tourists from Azerbaijan visited Iran over the last year and the year before, respectively.
The number of Afghan tourists who visited Iran stood at 860,079 in March 2017-18 and 683,241 in March 2016-17.
Iran hosted 573,849 tourists from Turkey last year and 444,200 in the year before (March 2016-17).
A total of 273,273 tourists from Pakistan visited Iran last year and 242,087 travelled to Iran in March 2016-17.
The above figures indicate that the number of tourists from Iraq and Azerbaijan has seen a significant growth over the past couple of years.
Although there is no data for the number of tourists from Europe and the United States, travel agents say fewer European and American tourists have been visiting Iran over the seven-month period compared to last year.
Iran Airports Company Data
The numbers are also supported by data released by Iran Airports Company as it registered a total of 295,698 takeoffs and landings during the first eight months of the current Iranian year (March 21-Nov. 21) in its latest report, which shows a 12% fall compared with the similar period of last year.
More than 35.63 million passengers were transported during the period under IAC review, indicating a 16% decline year-on-year.
The decline in airport traffic has accelerated compared to IAC's previously published data, registering 262,235 takeoffs and landings during seven months, down 11% compared with the similar period of last year. More than 31.65 million passengers were transported during the period, indicating a 15% decrease year-on-year.
Notably, 5,378 international takeoffs and landings were registered during the Iranian month ending Oct. 22 to register a 27% decline in traffic compared with the similar period of last year.
A total of over 723,317 passengers were transported to and from overseas destinations in the one-month under review, posting a 33% decrease year-on-year.
On the international front, 51,951 takeoffs and landings were registered, down by 16% YOY. A total of close to 7.65 million passengers were transported to and from overseas destinations, posting a 16% decrease compared with the corresponding period of last year.
The downturn in airport traffic is attributed to the fact that international airlines started to wind down their businesses in Iran after the United States announced in May that it had unilaterally decided to pull out of the nuclear deal Iran signed with world powers (including the US) back in 2015.
The withdrawal of US from JCPOA, criticized by the international community, threw a wrench in the works of Iran's burgeoning aviation sector.
International airlines that resumed their services following the nuclear deal pulled out of the Islamic Republic one by one.
British Airways ended its five times weekly services to Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport in August to join Air France and KLM, both of which previously announced their withdrawal of flights from Paris CDG and Amsterdam.
Iran-Iraq Deep Ties
Iran and Iraq have deep cultural, economic and political ties. The neighbor has been the biggest destination for Iranian non-oil products for two consecutive months now.
Latest statistics released by the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration show Iraq imported $6.75 billion worth of Iranian non-oil products in the eight months ending Nov. 21 to register a 66.59% growth. The export value accounted for 21% of the total value of Iran’s non-oil exports during the period under review.
Iraqi President Barham Salih met his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani during the visit to Tehran earlier this month, and Rouhani said he wants to raise bilateral ties between the two countries from the current $12 billion to $20 billion in the coming year.
The Iraqi government is working toward maintaining ties with Iran, its top trade partner, in the face of the United States’ sanctions on Tehran, which are aimed at minimizing its international economic relations.
Salih said in a visit to Kuwait last month that keeping “good and stable” relations with Iran is in his country’s best interest.
“Iran is a neighboring country and our interest lies in having good and stable relations with Iran,” he was quoted as saying by Reuters.
Iraq’s economy is also closely linked to Iran, according to the country’s central bank officials.
Salih urged the US to consider Baghdad’s political and economic position, as the two sides negotiate relief for Iraq from the sanctions.
“We do not want Iraq to be burdened with the US sanctions on Iran,” he said, adding that Iraq wanted to maintain “balanced” relations with all its neighbors and the international community.
