Iranian Minister of Cultural Heritage, Tourism, and Handicrafts Ezzatollah Zarghami said the Iranian Cabinet has decided to unilaterally cancel visa requirements for visitors from 33 more countries.
Speaking to reporters after a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Zarghami said the decision is aimed at boosting tourism arrivals and attracting more visitors from countries around the world.
He said efforts to boost tourism can neutralize Iranophobia campaigns.
The 33 countries approved for Iran’s new visa-waiver program are:
1- India, 2- Russian Federation (in group visits), 3- United Arab Emirates, 4- Bahrain, 5- Saudi Arabia, 6- Qatar, 7- Kuwait, 8- Lebanon, 9- Uzbekistan , 10- Kyrgyzstan, 11- Tajikistan, 12- Tunisia, 13- Mauritania, 14- Tanzania, 15- Zimbabwe, 16- Mauritius, 17- Seychelles, 18- Indonesia, 19- Brunei Darussalam, 20- Japan, 21- Singapore, 22- Cambodia, 23- Malaysia, 24- Vietnam, 25- Brazil, 26- Peru, 27- Cuba, 28- Mexico, 29- Venezuela, 30- Bosnia and Herzegovina, 31- Serbia, 32- Croatia and 33- Belarus.
That comes as Iran had visa waiver programs for visitors from Türkiye, Azerbaijan, Oman, China, Armenia, Lebanon and Syria.
According to the latest statistics, the number of foreign arrivals in Iran reached 4.4 million during the first eight months of the current Iranian year (started on March 21), an increase of 48.5% compared to the same period last year.
