Shiraz: More than 23,000 foreign tourists visited Iran’s southern Fars province in the first half of the current Iranian year, starting on March 21, 2025, according to a provincial tourism official. Heydarali Zahedian, acting head of the Tourism Department at the Fars Provincial Office of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts, reported that 23,319 foreign tourists traveled to the province during the six-month period.

According to Islamic Republic News Agency, Zahedian stated that although Fars hosted tourists from numerous countries, the largest numbers of visitors came from Russia, China, France, Germany, and Austria. He highlighted that visits to cultural heritage attractions such as Hafezieh, Saadieh, the UNESCO-listed sites of Persepolis and Pasargad, Eram Garden, and the Sassanid Axis were popular among the foreign tourists.

Zahedian emphasized the significance of increasing foreign tourist presence to enhance the province’s tourism sector. Meetings have been conducted with inbound tour operators to identify strategies for attracting more international visitors. He noted that one effective approach is hosting foreign familiarization tours to showcase the tourism potential and positive features of traveling to the province.

Fam tours, according to Zahedian, are highly effective in attracting inbound tourists. Tour operators are actively organizing such tours and are currently engaging in consultations and negotiations with groups from various countries to boost the inflow of international tourists to Fars province.