Which Countries Do Iranians Travel to the Most?

The Research Center of the Islamic Consultative Assembly announced in a report that Turkey was the most visited destination for Iranians in 2013. According to this report titled 'Statistical Index of Tourism in the Islamic Republic of Iran', 1,196,482 Iranians traveled to Turkey in 2013. The report, which is based on the statistical yearbook of the World Tourism Organization and covers the period from 2009 to 2013, states that Iraq was the second most popular destination for Iranian tourists in 2013, with 787,195 Iranians visiting Iraq. Following Turkey and Iraq, Saudi Arabia was reported as the third most popular destination for Iranian travelers. However, a report published by ISNA indicates that Saudi Arabia was not the third most popular destination for Iranians in 2013. The ISNA report, based on statistics from the World Tourism Organization, shows that after Turkey and Iraq, the next most visited countries by Iranians in 2013 were Armenia and Azerbaijan. Additionally, the report indicates that Iran's tourism balance in 2012 was negative, exceeding $6.403 billion, meaning that in 2012, outgoing tourists from Iran spent more on foreign destinations than incoming tourists spent in Iran. The Research Center of the Islamic Consultative Assembly specified that in 2013, the share of tourism in Iran's GDP was 6.1 percent, with 81.5 percent of this share coming from domestic tourists' expenses, while the share from foreign tourists was only 8.5 percent. The report predicts that in 2014, the growth rate of tourism's share in Iran's GDP could reach 10 percent, which would place Iran fourth in the world for growth in tourism's contribution to GDP. The final report from the council on changes and developments in the tourism sector globally has not yet been published. Previously, the Iranian Statistics Center had reported that Gilan province was the top destination for domestic tourists in the summer of 2013, followed by Razavi Khorasan and Mazandaran provinces.