Despite War, Intrepid Travelers Eager to Experience Kurdistan

LONDON - Usually when the British Foreign Office wavers between warnings of only essential travel somewhere, it’s only journalists rushing to get there. But a group of 30 tourists are defying caution and taking a vacation to the Kurdistan Region next month.

Dylan Harris, owner of Manchester-based Lupine Travel, says his tour to Kurdistan in October, and two more scheduled for next year, are sold out. He has a waiting list of people keen for adventure.

“Over the last few months, we've gotten 30 people to register for the tour and over the last few weeks there's been so much interest I've added an extra tour, so I'll go in October, April and May. I've had people asking if I can add another tour this year, so I'm considering December.”

Other UK-based tour operators have cancelled trips to Kurdistan and Iraq indefinitely, while they wait for the gruesome violence to abate and the political climate to settle.  Harris says is he is monitoring Kurdistan closely, with locals on the ground reporting regularly on the situation. He is ready to cancel if things get worse.

“About three or four weeks ago I almost cancelled the tour because it was looking too dangerous. But with the US airstrikes, people have assured me things have changed and people there assure me it’s safe. There aren't any cases of foreigners being abducted in Kurdistan and there have been no incidents with foreigners in the region since 2003.”

Harris has had to alter his travel plans into Kurdistan, removing the route along the Syrian border, but he is not worried.  And neither are his clients, like 27-year old Skippy Mesirow from Colorado.  Mesirow has an appetite for adventure.  He rode a motorcycle through Mexico and Cuba on a solo trip.

“I've been an extreme sports athlete for a while, so I look at travelling very much the way I look at training or competing, which means you must identify risk and prepare for it, physically and mentally, but it also demands background planning,” he says. “If something happens you have an escape plan. I have trip insurance, so if something changes tomorrow I can cancel or postpone.”

The itineraries Harris offers are not just off-the-beaten-track, they’re generally not places found on approved safety lists: North Korea, Chernobyl, Ukraine -- pick your hotspot. Harris is used to last minute changes, but the surge in interest in Iraqi Kurdistan surprised him.

“Usually, like with Ukraine, you do see a drop with this kind of violence of about 10 percent, and it’s not dropping, which is strange. There are quite a few reasons: some people didn't even realize it was possible to visit Iraq.  There are other people who always wanted to visit but have been waiting until it becomes safe, and those people are thinking this could be the last chance for a long time if things do spill over.”

Travellers on the trip are not just thrill-seekers.  Mesirow is an entrepreneur establishing a new international news site.  He is also an admitted information junkie.

“I'm a student of public policy and societal norms, so I tend to try and take myself as far outside of my norm as I can. This trip I'll go to Iraq and then Iran on the old Silk Road to Istanbul and fly home from there. I might go through several books a week, but there's only so much learning you can do through books, and I think it’s necessary to interact with other people to break through that.”

Matt Baron, a 29-year old Londoner, writes a travel blog; he booked his place on the trip months ago.

“When I booked in April, Kurdistan and Iraq both were stable and relatively ‘safe’, tourism was widely being encouraged. This was the perfect opportunity for me to feature a unique destination as one of my stories.”

Baron booked his trip to Ukraine when things were relatively stable, too, but wound up travelling there during the start of the civil war.  While he’s keeping a close eye on safety, Baron says the benefit of turbulent times is the valuable insight it will provide.

“The region is full of history. I want to be able to hear the stories for myself and meet the people doing amazing things in one of the most turbulent times in the region.”

Harris has received a few requests from travellers who long to tour the refugee camps and offer help – a noble gesture, Harris says, but one that demands delicate handling to avoid a sense of war tourism or gawking.

“There are people who want to talk to NGOs over there about the work they're doing. Even with the best intentions, it wouldn't really be right to visit refugee camps, so I spoke with the NGOs and asked if some of the travellers could get involved in some way. They were saying, what could we bring, what can we donate?  I'm going to see if any of the NGOs suggest taking anything over and if so, we'll do that.”

The trip will cover citadels, museums, some of Kurdistan’s most beautiful landscape, and historic places. But for Mesirow, the chance to interact with locals impacted by the instability beats any sightseeing.

“Its one thing to recognize someone's been displaced and another to talk to them about it and find out what they think needs to be done. Those are very powerful conversations that shape your own life and views.”