Despite years of sanctions, and many people’s concerns over restrictive religious laws, Iran has become an increasingly popular tourism destination in the few years since the nuclear agreement between Iran and a group of other countries, an agreement the U.S. has now backed out of.
The attraction, of course, is not the country’s theocratic government, but its ancient and modern monuments and cities, some with histories going back to the mists of time. Seven years ago, the country had 400,000 visitors; in 2017, the number grew to 4 million. While many come from Europe, some of the growth may have come in travelers from countries such as Libya, Syria and Yemen whose residents are barred from visiting the U.S.
Of course, Iran is not the only country in the Middle East that is experiencing steep tourism growth; Jordan, Israel and Oman are also on the list, as is Egypt, whose tourism sector is seeing a sharp recovery after two years of terrorism-related drops. Turkey, too, is recovering some of its momentum.
