Now, Iran Announces Visa Waiver For Indians

New Delhi: It’s raining ‘incentives’ for Indian travellers.

Days after Indonesian government proposed visa-free entry to travellers from India and some other countries, Iran made a similar announcement, ANI reported.

Iranian Minister of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Ezzatollah Zarghami said that the Cabinet has decided to unilaterally waive visa requirements for visitors from 33 countries including India.

Zarghami told newspersons after a Cabinet meeting that the decision is aimed at boosting tourism and attracting more visitors from countries around the world.

He hoped that the decision will help in neutralising Iranophobia campaigns.

The 33 countries approved for Iran’s latest visa-waiver programme are — India, Russia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Lebanon, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Mauritania, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Mauritius, Seychelles, Indonesia, Darussalam, Japan, Singapore, Cambodia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Brazil, Peru, Cuba, Mexico, Venezuela, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Serbia, Croatia and Belarus.

Indonesia apart, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Taiwan have recently waived visa requirements for visitors from India, which is one of the fastest-growing markets for outbound tourism. A recent McKinsey analysis showed 13 million Indian tourists travelled overseas in 2022.