Iran is expecting a total of more than one billion dollars in revenue from tourism by the end of the current Iranian year in March, the state IRNA news agency reported.
That figure marks a massive jump from just over $350 million in 1997, it said, as the Islamic republic has worked to attract tourists and cut its dependence on petrodollars.
Iran's oil income accounts for roughly 80 percent of the nation's hard currency earnings but President Mohammad Khatami has pushed to revamp the economy and ease dependence on the nation's vast oil and gas reserves.
Some 2.1 million tourists visited Iran this year compared to around 765,000 in 1997, the year of Khatami's election, IRNA said. — (AFP, Tehran)
© Agence France Presse 2001
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
