More than one million tourists visited Erbil in the first six months of 2022

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – More than one million tourists visited Erbil, the Kurdistan Region capital in the first six months of 2022, Ismail Minakhan, the Director-General of Erbil’s General Directorate of Tourism told Kurdistan 24.

“1,117,395 tourists visited Erbil during the first six months of 2022,” said Minakhan. “238,531 of them were foreigners coming from outside Iraq.”     

Minakhan also revealed that 15% increase in the number of tourists who visited Erbil this year compared to last year’s visitors.

“We offer significant facilitation to the foreign tourists who visit Kurdistan Region, including reducing the upon arrival granted entry visa to twenty dollars for the passport holders of the Schengen Countries, Gulf Arab countries and some of the other World’s countries,” said Minakhan.

Minakhan added that the parliament has already made the first reading of the Tourism draft law and that it will soon hold the second reading and vote for it. He pointed out that “once, the law takes effect his office will have additional powers regarding running the tourist facilities and organizing touristic events.

“We have plans for organizing various carnivals, festivals, and competitions for the visiting tourists throughout the year,” he said. “These events include but are not limited to hiking, horse-riding, parachuting, concerts, and locally made food and clothes exhibitions,”

Minkhan also said that they have teams from his office at all Kurdistan Region’s checkpoints to ensure an easy entry of the Iraqi tourist groups. He revealed that his office applies new procedures for the tourists visiting the Kurdistan Region from the rest of Iraq to ensure that they are warmly welcomed at the checkpoints and they can pass with no delay.   

“We highly encourage more foreign tourists from the world to come to explore and experience the unique and amazing Kurdish culture and hospitality in the Kurdistan Region,” he said.

Edited by NA