Tehran, June 24, IRNA - A total of 23,625 foreign tourists arrived in Iran during the first three months of the current Iranian year (started March 21).Morteza Rahmani Movahed, the deputy head of Iran?s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization (ICHHTO), added that the number of tourists increased by 215 percent compared with the corresponding figure of last year.
Most tourists were from Australia, South Korea, Japan, China and New Zealand, as well as European countries, according to a report to be published in Iran Daily Wednesday.
?Iran must increase the number of tourists from 4.5 million in 2013 to 10 million by 2019 under the 2025 Vision plan,? he said, adding that ICHHTO also seeks to attract 20 million foreign tourists annually by 2025.
Masoud Soltanifar, the head of ICHHTO, in a message felicitated the registration of Burnt City to all Iranians. He said registration of the site as a historical symbol of Iranian?s peaceful coexistence could help introduce the country to the world.
Soltanifar noted that some monuments of Iran have been registered on UNESCO?s List, which could attract a high number of tourists annually.
?With the exception of visitors interested in touring the monuments and historical places of Iran, some foreign tourists like to undertake pilgrimage to holy shrines,? he said.
?For example, at present, more than 1.6 million Iraqis have traveled to Iran with the purpose of visiting holy shrines.?
The official also said the holy shrines of Karbala host nearly 2.2 million Iranians annually.
Soltanifar said ICHHTO plans to carry out widespread measures to increase the number of tourists under the 2025Vision plan.
?To this end, ICHHTO will translate Irans tourism portal into five languages for the first time, he said.
Jalil Golshan, research director of ICHHTO said the government seeks to use new ways of attracting more tourists.
?The registration of Iranian monuments on World Heritage List is one of the ways,? he said.
Golshan added that the registration of Iran?s Burnt City on UNESCO?s World Heritage List would help attract more foreign tourists annually.
?The event would pave the way for introducing the archeological site to the world,? he said, adding that the decision also encourages experts and researchers to visit the Burnt City.
Iran?s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization plans to use scientific methods for restoration of the site, he said.
Burnt City is an archeological site of a Bronze Age urban settlement associated with the Jiroft culture. It is located in Sistan-Baluchestan province.
The ancient city was one of the vital centers of Asian civilization and dates back to the 4th and 3rd millennium BCE.
It was registered on the World Heritage List in the 38th session of the World Heritage Committee held in Doha, Qatar, from June 15-25.
By IRNA
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