Nearly 60,000 tourists arrived in Erbil ahead of Eid Al-Fitr: Official 

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) - Almost 60,000 tourists have traveled to the Kurdistan Region's capital Erbil ahead of the Eid Al-Fitr holiday, a tourism official told Kurdistan 24 on Tuesday. 

The tourists include Iraqis from the central and southern provinces as well as international tourists, the head of Erbil Tourism Directorate Ismael Minakhan told Kurdistan 24. 

These visitors came to Erbil through borders with Iraqi provinces, international borders with regional countries, and Erbil International Airport. They have all come since Apr. 25. 

The Kurdistan Region authorities previously announced they had taken preparations to welcome a large number of tourists before the Eid Al-Fitr holiday began on Monday. The three-day holiday marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan. 

Mountainous areas and resorts in the northeastern Erbil invariably attract thousands of local and Iraqi tourists during the summer and winter seasons. 

The Kurdistan Region has taken many steps to reduce its heavy reliance on hydrocarbon exports for revenue. One of these steps has been investing more in developing its tourism sector. 

On World Tourism Day in 2021, the Kurdistan Region's Duhok province held an exhibition of 130 companies to attract further investment in the sector.