Kurdistan looks to lure more tourists as government faces cash crunch

by Pshtiwan Jamal

SULAIMANI, Kurdistan Region – The Kurdistan Region’s tourism board says it plans to attract tourists from neighboring countries, to make up for a fall in visitors from further abroad due to the war with the Islamic State (ISIS) and as the autonomous enclave grapples with a financial crisis.

“In coordination with local tourism companies we are trying to find ways to attract tourists from neighboring Iran and Turkey,” said board spokesman Nadir Rusti.

Over the past several years most of the tourists visiting the Kurdistan Region were from south and center of Iraq. But following the ISIS attacks in Iraq, the Baghdad-Kirkuk road fell under their control, which disrupted the ground transportation of tourists to Kurdistan.

Small numbers of local people visit touristic areas in Kurdistan, but the drop in visitors from other parts of Iraq and further abroad has forced some hotels and restaurants to close down.

The tourism board is making efforts to find an alternative way for tourists from south and central Iraq to visit Kurdistan, Rusti said.  “If Iraqi tourists want to visit Kurdistan the local companies can handle air transportation,” he added.

Zirak Abdurrahman, director of a tourism company, applauded the initiative from the tourism board but voiced concerns about the security and political situation in Kurdistan.

“The security situation of the Kurdistan Region and Iraq are discouraging foreign tourists from visiting,” he explained.  

He added that for the new initiative to succeed the Kurdish government should provide subsidies to tourism companies. “For instance, if companies make a 30 percent discount in ticket prices, the government should pay the difference to the companies,” he suggested.

Rusti, the tourism board spokesman, announced that “we will provide support in terms of tax and prices of hotels and restaurants for companies that are successful in attracting tourists.”

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) is keenly in need of more tourism revenues, because Baghdad has said it is unable to live up to a commitment of paying the expenses of the regional government.

Before the war with ISIS began last summer, tourism revenues totaled more than $1 billion a year.

Zmnako Karim, the owner of another tourism company, acknowledged that the war was a problem, but said the KRG must upgrade facilities in order to attract more foreign tourists.

“Foreign tourists are interested in visiting the Kurdistan Region, but tourism facilities and infrastructure should be established,” he said.

Hersh Ahmed Chawshin, head of the hotels and restaurants union, said that tourism companies can negotiate lodging and dining prices.

He complained that the tourism board did not support the union. “For years, we have been asking the board of tourism to support us in terms of taxes and services. Despite not receiving any kind of support from the board of tourism, we are ready to support tourism companies,” he said.

Tourism expert Shamal Ali also lauded the initiative of the tourism board, saying, “It will revive the tourism sector in the Kurdistan Region and will increase awareness about the Kurdistan Region politically and culturally.”

He added that the government should provide assistance to tourists at airports and border points, and called for greater professionalism by tourism companies.

“Tourism companies should be well-known and should be run by professional people,” he said.