Turkey, Iran sign agreement to boost tourism

Turkey and Iran agreed to raise direct flight numbers as the countries signed a memorandum of understanding toward enhancing cooperation of tourism, local newspaper Milliyet reported on Monday.

Under the agreement, which was signed when Turkish Culture and Tourism Minister Mahir Unal visited Iran last week, Iran would allow 2,000 flights from Turkey until the end of October, which means an exchange of 4,000 flights between two countries.

Unal said that this year so far the number of Iranian tourists to Turkey rose seven percent. About one million Iranian tourists are expected to visit Turkey in six months, he added.

Turkey's tourism revenue decreased by 16.5 percent in the first quarter of 2016 compared to the same period of 2015 due to escalating security concerns.