Tourist arrivals since the Iranian new year began March 20, earned the country $2.85 billion, trade official said.

Earlier, the Head of Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization (ICHHTO) Massoud Soltanifarhad announced that Iran has formulated plans to increase revenue from the tourism industry within the next ten years to an amount equal to the income generated by oil sales

In an interview with the Tasnim, Soltanifar said according to the plans, Iran’s income from attracting tourists will amount to the oil incomes in 2025.

Referring to a 12-14 percent rise in the number of foreign visitors to Iran over the past two years, he expected that the country will be hosting 20 million tourists in 2025.

With a large number of attractive natural and historical sites, Iran is one of the most touristic countries in the world.

More foreign tourists are starting to arrive in Iran after a lasting nuclear deal between Tehran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) came into force and nuclear-related anti-Iran sanctions were terminated.

Back in February 2016, the then Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hossein Jaberi Ansari announced a decision that will enable the citizens of all but nine countries to obtain Iran’s visa on arrival at the country’s airports.