Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts, and Tourism Organization (ICHTO) has proposed a plan based on which the passports of foreign travellers visiting Iran will not be stamped, so that they would be encouraged to visit the country.

Ali Asghar Moonesan, the ICHTO chief, said in a meeting on Saturday that the proposal has been approved by Iran’s Trade Ministry, Foreign Ministry and the Iranian Police and will go into effect upon the government’s ratification.

Moonesan said the aim of the proposal is to ease concerns of European visitors, who fear they might face problems in receiving the US visa if Iran’s stamp is on their passports.

He further suggested the decision will help boost the business of high-end Iranian hotels.

“Despite a 38-percent increase in the number of tourists visiting Iran [early this year] … the number of European visitors has decreased and this has negatively affected the performance of four-star and five-star hotels,” IRNA quoted him as saying.

People from countries that have the visa waiver program with the US will be disqualified from entering the US without a visa, in case they travel to Iran.

They need to go through the normal process that requires a hefty application fee and passing an interview.