Tourist arrivals to Iran down 1% for Mar-2017 to Aug-2017

Iran's Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization reported tourist arrivals to Iran decreased 1.1% year-on-year to 2.1 million in the first five months of the current Iranian year, which commenced on 21-Mar-2017 (Financial Tribune, 18-Sep-2017). The top source markets were Iraq, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Tourist numbers decreased 5.1% in the first three months of the year. The decrease was attributed to Iran's political relations with Saudi Arabia and the US.