Checkpoints, bureaucracy holding back tourism industry
Tourists from southern and central Iraq come to the Kurdistan Region for its milder climate, spectacular mountain views, and lush natural beauty. However, officials admit more needs to be done to speed up security checks and cut red tape if the sector is going to grow.
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) tourism board has promised tourism-boosting measures to ease bureaucratic obstacles, including making security checks quicker.
Tourism could become a major source of revenue for the oil-dependent region’s economy. Tourists pay 50,000-150,000 Iraqi dinars ($42-$126) per person per trip on average, and the number of visitors is rising.
Almost three million people visited the Region in 2018 and some 900,000 visited in the first three months of 2019 alone, according to the KRG General Tourism Board.
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) tourism board has promised tourism-boosting measures to ease bureaucratic obstacles, including making security checks quicker.
Tourism could become a major source of revenue for the oil-dependent region’s economy. Tourists pay 50,000-150,000 Iraqi dinars ($42-$126) per person per trip on average, and the number of visitors is rising.
Almost three million people visited the Region in 2018 and some 900,000 visited in the first three months of 2019 alone, according to the KRG General Tourism Board.