rosalynn debhavalya, nhk world. >>> iranians are turning to high-end tourism to help boost their lagging economy. they've been struggling to draw in foreign currency while living in sanctions under the country's nuclear program. so they've been finding alternative revenue sources to help get things back on track. nhk world explains. >> reporter: on october 23rd, the golden express luxury train pulled into the city of sanjan in western iraq. onboard were about 60 passengers from nine countries around the world. for most of them it was their first visit to iran. >> we are afraid to come alone and that's why we joined the train. we will encourage our people to come to iran. >> reporter: it took the train two weeks to cover the 7,000 kilometers between budapest and tehran. after entering iran, the passengers were taken to visit six world heritage sites including the 14th century sultan dome and the ancient city. ♪ >> there was a strong demand for places on the train despite ticket prices of up to $15,000 per person. this man runs a travel agency in holland. his reason for joining the tour