Kurdistan earns $73 million from tourism during Eid holiday

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – Kurdistan Region received 243,000 tourists in the last week of June, earning more than 70 million USD.

The Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) General Directorate of Tourism announced that in the last week of June and the days of Eid, Kurdistan Region welcomed 243,000 tourists who were mostly from Iraq.

Ramadan Eid orEid al-Fitr marks the end of a month of fasting and is an important holiday for Muslims around the world.

Nadir Rosti, the spokesperson of the KRG’s Tourism Department told Kurdistan24 that between June 23 and July 1, over 200,000 tourists arrived in the Kurdistan Region through the borders and airports.

Rosti revealed that 70 percent of the tourists came from the middle and south of Iraq.

He added that during that period the estimated revenue for the private sector from tourism reached 73 million USD.

Rosti also said that “the number of tourists visiting the Kurdistan Region has increased, thanks to the government’s policy to attract tourists to the region and renovating attractions and providing tourists with services.”

“Same time last year, 122,000 tourists visited Kurdistan. This year we had a 100 percent increase in the number of tourists,” he said.

Nawroz Mawlood, Minister of Municipality and Tourism, reiterated to Kurdistan24 the KRG’s policy towards improving tourism sector in the Region, stating that despite the financial crisis, the government has allocated some budget to providing services to the tourism industry.

Editing by Ava Homa