Iran aims to significantly boost tourist exchanges with neighboring Iraq, targeting five million visitors each way within a year, according to Iran’s Tourism Minister Seyyed Reza Salehi-Amiri. The announcement came during a meeting focused on enhancing tourism cooperation between the two countries, attended by Iranian ministry officials, representatives from border provinces, and private-sector tourism operators.

Currently, roughly 3.6 million Iraqi tourists visit Iran annually, while about 3.5 million Iranians travel to Iraq. Salehi-Amiri emphasized the need to develop a concrete and measurable roadmap to elevate these figures to five million visitors in both directions within a specified timeframe.

The minister clarified that the annual Arbaeen pilgrimage, which draws massive crowds for religious observance, should be treated separately from conventional tourism statistics. He described Arbaeen as a distinctive ideological and spontaneous popular movement, where typical tourism components such as paid accommodation and services do not always apply. Instead, he urged a focus on tourism involving planned stays and services that generate economic and cultural value.

Salehi-Amiri highlighted the importance of diversifying tourism beyond religious visits, advocating for growth in medical tourism, leisure, shopping, cultural, and academic travel. He noted that many Iraqi travelers visit historical and cultural cities in Iran, such as Shiraz and Isfahan, beyond religious sites like Mashhad, indicating a broad range of opportunities for tourism expansion.

To facilitate this growth, the minister called for improved transport links and simplified border procedures, especially for private vehicles and family travel. He stressed the need to evaluate airline capacities and develop ground transportation and shuttle services connecting Iraqi cities to Iranian tourist destinations, alongside smoother border crossing processes.

Medical tourism was identified as a critical sector in need of enhanced coordination. Salehi-Amiri acknowledged existing challenges stemming from the lack of an integrated system connecting patients and travelers from origin to destination. Iran has been working toward establishing a comprehensive medical tourism system to enhance transparency, reduce reliance on intermediaries, and coordinate service delivery. Addressing banking and currency issues, intermediary activities, communication connectivity, and SIM card accessibility for foreign patients were also noted as priorities.

To strengthen bilateral tourism collaboration, the minister proposed forming a permanent cooperative mechanism, including a joint supreme tourism council, specialized working groups, and a shared office to monitor progress through regular meetings. He also suggested joint tourism and handicrafts exhibitions to promote economic development in border regions and foster social and cultural ties.

Salehi-Amiri stressed that the five-million-visitor goal must be supported by a detailed program with clear timelines, assigned responsibilities, measurable indicators, and monitoring frameworks. The roadmap should consider factors such as regional security, transport infrastructure, diverse tourism categories, travel convenience, accommodation capacity, and private-sector involvement. He urged that serious attention be given to this plan in light of proposals from the Iraqi prime minister to realize the target within the coming year.