Economy

KRG: tourists visiting Kurdistan doubled from last year

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) plans to attract more tourists by inviting extra tourism companies and facilitating appropriate procedures for them, a Kurdish official said on Sunday.

Baxtiyar Goran 2016/08/21 16:53

kurdistan Kurdistan Tourism Erbil Iraq

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) plans to attract more tourists by inviting extra tourism companies and facilitating appropriate procedures, a Kurdish official said on Sunday.

The KRG’s Ministry of Municipality and Tourism organized a meeting with dozens of Iraqi and Jordanian tourism companies in Erbil on Sunday to explore mechanisms that would attract more tourists to the Region.

According to a Kurdistan24 reporter, the tourism companies had asked the KRG to offer their help so they could bring more tourists to Kurdistan.

Newroz Mawloud, the Minister of Municipality and Tourism, told Kurdistan24 that due to the assistance provided by the KRG, the number of tourists visiting the Region had doubled compared to last year.

However, Mawloud did not hide that there were gaps and shortcomings.

“The KRG Prime Minister instructed the Ministry to meet with the representatives of the tourism companies and listen to their problems and requirements to find solutions for them,” she said.

“With the increase of tourists, the Ministry would receive 20 percent of the revenue which would be used to provide more services for the tourist spots that lack infrastructure,” Mawloud added.

The representative of a Jordanian company spoke to Kurdistan24 and shared their thoughts about tourism in the Region,

“During our visit to Kurdistan we saw some unique, natural places that would attract tourists in the Summer and Winter, especially for those who like skiing,” the representative revealed.

The Director General of Erbil International Airport Talar Fayeq previously told Kurdistan24 that the number of tourists who entered the Kurdistan Region had increased in 2016 compared to the year before.

Fayeq noted that she expects the number to continue to increase by the end of the year.

In July, the Kurdistan Region Board of Tourism revealed “the tourism sector had successfully attracted numerous tourists during the Eid of Ramadan with over 122,000 visitors, a 129 percent increase.”

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany
(Araz Ahmed from Erbil contributed to this report)