Iraqis view Kurdistan the only safe place for vacation

The board of tourism revealed on Tuesday that in the last week, 70,000 tourists visited Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region.

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – The board of tourism revealed on Tuesday that in the last week, 70,000 tourists visited Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region.

Iraq is considered the third most dangerous country in the world following Syria and South Sudan, according to the latest Global Peace Index (GPI) report.

After the emergence of the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq in June 2014, the country began to suffer increased violence as well as economic and political turmoil.

Civilians continue to be the victims of explosions, especially in a recent suicide car bomb attack in Baghdad that killed and wounded hundreds of innocent people.

Widad Rashid, a 60-year-old woman from Baghdad, visited the Kurdistan Region with her family. Rashid often visits the Region during the summer, impressed by the beautiful nature, security and hospitality of people in Kurdistan.

“Kurds are very welcoming people. You are all our relatives and friends,” Rashid told Kurdistan24. “Kurdish security helps us so much. I have visited the Kurdistan Region many times, and I am very happy that it is secure.”

Erbil security explained to Kurdistan24 that the number of tourists arriving from southern parts of Iraq to the Region is based on cooperation with the Kurdistan Region Board of Tourism.

“We came from Baghdad,” another tourist named Ali Ahmed told Kurdistan24. “Kurdistan is the only secure and stable location in the entire country to spend a vacation in.”

“It has many beautiful places. I have visited four times before. It is true that we wait for a long time at the security checkpoints, but this is normal, and we understand that it is for the sake of better security for us,” he added.

Samir Mahmod, another tourist in Erbil, stated that it was his first visit to Kurdistan. He mentioned that his friends told him that the security in the Region was very good.

“There is no security left in Baghdad. We have come here to spend some good time,” Mahmod said.

Moreover, the Administration Director of Tourism Directorate in Erbil Province Ismael Minakhan revealed that almost 70,000 tourists visited Erbil in the past week.

“On Tuesday, over 6,000 visitors had entered Erbil through the Kirkuk – Erbil security checkpoint,” Minakhan explained.

­­­­He related the boost of tourism in Kurdistan to the cooperation plan between the Kurdistan Region Security and Board of Tourism.

Recently, the Board revealed that on the first two days of Eid (July 6 and 7) 108,000 tourists had visited the Kurdistan Region.

Although Kurdistan shares over 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) of its border with IS in the north of Iraq, the Region has become a hub for tourists, especially for people in southern Iraq.

 

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany

(Hero Mawludi contributed to this report)