SAEDNEWS: 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 travelers went abroad between January and September 2025—around 50 million more than the same period in 2024 and 3% higher than 2019 levels—according to the latest World Tourism Barometer.
“International tourism has continued to experience sustained growth so far in 2025, both in arrivals and, most importantly, in receipts, despite high inflation in tourism services and geopolitical tensions,” UN Tourism Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili said. He noted that Africa and Europe delivered particularly strong results.
Meanwhile, national data revealed that 3.5 million foreign tourists visited Iran during the first half of the current Iranian calendar year, which began on March 20, 2025. Tourist arrivals to Iran rose by an average of about 30% in the first two months of the year compared with the same period in 2024.
