Vali Teymouri, the deputy director of the Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization, said Saturday that 4,704,509 Iranians traveled abroad in the first seven months of the current Iranian year (Mar. 21 – Oct. 22), which shows a significant drop compared to the number of travels registered for the corresponding period last year, which amounts to 10,524,952.

He said the destinations were mostly to pilgrimage sites, countries of transit, or cheaper countries to visit. The most visited countries from March to October were Iraq, Turkey, UAE, Georgia, Germany, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

According to the latest reports by travel agencies, Iranians’ international trips this Autumn were heavily affected by increased rate of departure tax, foreign currencies, and plane tickets, dropping by 33% compared to the same period last year.