TEHRAN - International tourist arrivals rose 5% in the first nine months of 2025 from a year earlier, exceeding pre-pandemic levels, according to data released by UN Tourism.

Over 1.1 billion overnight visitors travelled internationally between January and September 2025, about 50 million more than in the same period of 2024 and 3% above 2019 levels, the latest World Tourism Barometer showed.

“International tourism has continued to experience sustained growth so far in 2025 in terms of international arrivals and most importantly in receipts, despite high inflation in tourism services and geopolitical tensions,” UN Tourism Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili said in the report. He added that Africa and Europe showed strong results.

Separately, available national data showed that 3.5 million foreign tourists visited Iran in the first half of the current Iranian calendar year, which began on March 20, 2025. Tourist arrivals to Iran increased by about 30% on average in the first two months of the calendar year compared with the same period a year earlier.

AM