Over 30 000 Iranian citizens may visit Armenia during Nowruz Bayram

PanARMENIAN.Net - Head of the Tourism and Territorial Economic Development Department at the RA Ministry of Economy Mekhak Apresyan said that the number of Iranian citizens visiting Armenia is growing from year to year.

“In 2009, according to monitoring, their number totaled over 80 000, while 40% growth was recorded in 2010, bringing the number of Iranian tourists to around 120 000,” he said.

A considerable growth is recorded in their number during Nowruz Bayram (the New Year in Iranian calendar), which starts on March 21 and lasts for 13 days.

40-50% growth in the number of Iranian tourists was recorded in 2010 compared to 2009 during this period. According to Apresyan, their number will exceed 30, 000 this year.

According to the results of an official monitoring conducted at the republic’s checkpoints over the past years, an Iranian citizen spends around USD 700-800 on an average during his visit to Armenia.

However, Apresyan believes that this sum reaches USD 1 000 without calculation of transportation costs.