Iran is keen to increase the number of Turkish tourist visiting the country. A top Iranian tourism official made a package of proposals aimed at attracting Turkish tourists. Iranian deputy cultural heritage, handicrafts and tourism organization chief Morteza Rahmani submitted the proposals in a meeting with head of Turkeys travel agencies syndicate Ulu Soy. He asked for an inclusion of Iran in that syndicates tourism package to balance bilateral travelling industry.
The head of Turkeys Tourism Agencies Syndicate welcomed the Iranian officials proposals and announced that syndicates readiness for forwarding Turkish tourists to Iran, welcoming signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with private sector Iranian tourism agencies. He reiterated that during the course of the current year 16 million Turk tourists will travel inside Turkey and abroad, adding that Iran must gain a special share of that number of tourists.
In 2011, the number of foreign tourists in Iran reached 3 million, contributing more than $2 billion to the national economy. The strong devaluation of the Iranian rial since early 2012 is also a positive element for tourism in Iran.