TEHRAN – Iran and Armenia have agreed to remove obstacles to land travel, increase direct flights and expand health tourism cooperation, with plans to hold their sixth joint technical tourism committee meeting in Tabriz, Iran’s deputy tourism minister has said.

Anoushirvan Mohseni-Bandpey announced the agreements following the 19th Iran-Armenia joint commission on cooperation, held in Yerevan on November 9 and 10.

He said tourism was among the key areas discussed during the meeting, which reviewed bilateral cooperation and produced a joint memorandum of understanding.

Mohseni-Bandpey highlighted the two countries’ longstanding historical and cultural ties, saying they offered considerable potential for expanding people-to-people exchanges and tourism.

One of the main priorities is addressing difficulties affecting land travel, particularly problems at border crossings. Under the agreement, a joint meeting involving officials from Iran’s East Azarbaijan province and Armenia’s Syunik province, including representatives of the tourism sector, will be organized to identify obstacles and develop practical solutions.

Iran’s Road Maintenance and Transportation Organization, Ministry of Transport and Urban Development, and the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration have also expressed readiness to cooperate in facilitating cross-border travel, he said.

The sixth joint technical tourism committee meeting is expected to take place in Tabriz in the near future, following the fifth meeting held in December last year. The gathering is intended to translate the latest agreements into practical measures.

Health tourism is another priority, Mohseni-Bandpey said, noting Iran’s medical services and healthcare infrastructure as potential assets for attracting Armenian patients and visitors. Facilitating the entry of Armenian medical tourists into Iran is therefore among the issues being pursued.

The two sides have also discussed increasing the number of direct flights between their countries, with the matter scheduled for further examination at upcoming technical meetings.

According to the deputy tourism minister, Iran is the third-most popular destination for Armenian tourists, after Russia and Georgia. Armenia, meanwhile, ranks fifth or sixth among destinations chosen by Iranian travelers, depending on the year.

Mohseni-Bandpey also pointed to the Armenian diaspora, estimating that between seven million and eight million ethnic Armenians live outside Armenia. He said their cultural connections with Iran could provide opportunities for developing new travel packages and tourism initiatives.

He further highlighted the potential for combined tourism packages targeting international visitors traveling to the region, allowing Iran and Armenia to promote their attractions jointly, encourage longer stays and strengthen regional tourism flows.

Mohseni-Bandpey said the agreements reached at the 19th joint commission offered an opportunity to move bilateral tourism cooperation beyond general understandings and toward practical action, particularly through improved land and air connectivity, health tourism and the promotion of shared historical and cultural heritage.

 AM