Iraq’s Kurdistan Region will welcome seven million tourists by 2025

Wednesday, June 20, 2018

The tourism sector of Kurdistan Region hopes that it will attract more than 7 million tourists by 2025 as the department is developing new infrastructure.

Spokesperson for Kurdistan’s Board of Tourism said they are initiating some promotional programme to develop this place as tourism destination for both national and international visitors.

Kurdistan is a popular destination for thousands of Iraqis and other tourists from neighboring countries such as Iran and Turkey, especially during the summer season or special holidays.

The Kurdistan Region is known for being safe, having cooler temperatures, and plenty of tourist destinations among its rich natural landscape.

Here most tourists visiting the semi-autonomous region come from central and southern provinces of Iraq. Others come from as far as Europe, Asia, and North America. According to Board of Tourism spokesperson Nadir Rosti, the Kurdistan Region plans to advertise its tourism sector through the organization of conferences and seminars at home and abroad.

Rosti noted the mid-2014 emergence of the so-called Islamic State, as well as other crises in the region, prevented the arrival of tourists.

However, with the extremist group now militarily defeated, the spokesperson said the tourism sector would become an important source of income for the Kurdistan Region.

Rosti said that they plan to receive five million tourists annually. This tourism number will rise up to 7 millions in 2025.

The tourism imports will reach two billion dollars annually.

During the five-day Eid al-Fitr celebration, the Kurdistan Region received over 127,000 tourists, mostly from provinces in central and southern Iraq.

Various activities, such as organizing important conferences, popular exhibitions, and hosting cinema festivals have contributed to the revitalization of Kurdistan’s tourism sector.

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