The country has lifted visa requirements for citizens of a total of 33 countries.
Iran announced it is waiving visa requirements for Indian citizens along with 32 other countries, along with several other countries that have recently announced visa exemption for Indian citizens.
The move is aimed at promoting tourism with more visitors from around the world, Ezzatollah Zarghami, Iran’s Minister of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts, said after a cabinet meeting on Friday. Private.
The move is intended to demonstrate Iran’s commitment to global interaction, Zarghami said, adding: “Iran aims to counter negative perceptions and rumors with this decision, and counter the phenomenon of “Iranism caused by the existence of a global system of arrogance.”
Thirty-two other countries on Iran’s visa-free travel list include Russia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Lebanon, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Mauritania, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Mauritius and Seychelles. , Indonesia, Darussalam, Japan, Singapore, Cambodia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Brazil, Peru, Cuba, Mexico, Venezuela, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Croatia and Belarus.
Previously, Iran lifted visa requirements for citizens of Türkiye, Azerbaijan, Oman, China, Armenia, Lebanon and Syria. According to the latest statistics, the total number of tourists to Iran reached 4.4 million in the first eight months of this year (starting March 21), an increase of 48.5% over the same period last year.
Zarghami also said his ministry had proposed visa-free travel for 60 countries but it was not fully approved.
According to Iranian media, its citizens will be able to travel to Saudi Arabia for Umrah via “regular flights” starting from December 19. Thanks to this, Iranians will be able to perform Umrah in Saudi Arabia Saudi for the first time in 8 years. improvement in relations between the two countries.
India has a growing outbound tourism market
Meanwhile, a recent analysis by McKinsey found that India has one of the fastest growing outbound tourism markets – with 13 million tourists by 2022. Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam have also recently waived visa requirements for Indian citizens. Earlier this month, Thailand – another neighboring country whose economy depends heavily on tourism – announced visa exemption for Indian citizens, from November 10 to May 10 next year. A limited-time exemption is already in effect for travelers from China and Kazakhstan.
In October, Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Ali Sabry lifted visa requirements for citizens of seven countries, including India, China and Russia, as part of a pilot project – the the exemption lasts until March 31, 2024.
According to a statement issued by Sri Lanka the Government said, the move is part of the crisis-hit country’s efforts to boost tourism and achieve target of 50,000,000 visitors by 2026. Currently, 27 countries waive visa entry for Indian citizens. The latest additions include Kenya, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Sri Lanka. Other countries that allow Indian citizens to enter without a visa include Barbados, Bhutan, Dominica, Haiti, Maldives, Mauritius, Nepal, Samoa and Trinidad and Tobago, among others.
According to data provided by the Ministry of Tourism, the top 5 destinations for Indian citizens are United Arab Emirates, United States, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and Thailand; with a large number of tourists from abroad.
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