Tehran, Aug 9, IRNA - Vice-President and Head of the Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts, and Tourism Organization Masoud Soltani-Far said here on Sunday that over 5.1 million of foreign tourists visited Iran in 2014.

Soltani-Far made the remarks in a meeting with visiting Georgian Deputy Speaker Gubaz Sanikidze.
He reiterated that Iran is planning to host over 20 million foreign tourists until 2025.
'We are preparing the infrastructure, air transport network, facilitating the process of issuing visas and training of skilled manpower in the fields of tourism,' he added.
Soltani-Far reiterated that the Islamic Republic of Iran enjoys the highest capacities in cultural, historical, natural and pilgrimage tourism.
At present, Tehran and Tbilisi enjoy trade exchange worth 200 million dollars, and the figure can touch one billion dollars in near future.
Four months ago, Soltani-Far said, Iran is believed to have rich potential to become a Halal touristic hub and to attract millions of Muslims to visit the country annually.
He underlined that many principles of Halal tourism, including serving halal meat in airplanes, hotels and restaurants, and prohibition of serving alcoholic beverages in such places, are already observed in Iran.
'If Iran provides more athletic facilities for Muslim women, then Iran would be an ideal touristic destination for Muslims from all over the world,' Soltani-far added.
Halal tourism is considered as a new branch of tourism industry by the World Tourism Organization that provides Muslims with special recreational and touristic programs.

By IRNA