Is Kurdistan Region’s tourism sector returning to the old days?
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Hotels, motels and other places of lodging in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region which were closed due to a drop in tourism during the conflict with the Islamic State (ISIS) from 2014-2018 are reclaiming their positions as top destinations for tourists from elsewhere in the country, according to some government officials and proprietors.
“In the first six months of this year, more than 1.7 million tourists have visited the Kurdistan Region. Compared to the first six months of last year there has been a 23-percent increase,” Nader Rusti, the spokesperson for the Kurdistan Region’s General Tourism Board told Rudaw on Monday.
He expects the number to reach 3.5 million by the end of the year. There are around 1,128 tourism accommodations and restaurants in the Kurdistan Region, but only 636 were actually open in 2016.
The others were temporarily closed or their buildings have been used for other purposes, according to a survey by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Survey Board conducted in 2017.
The Board also said in the survey that 3.7 million tourists visited Kurdistan Region in 2013, but the number dropped steadily until 2016 when it saw a 43-percent decrease.
However, in the last two-and-half years the situation has improved since the declared defeat of ISIS and a slight bounce back in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region’s economies.
As the ISIS focus has faded, people from elsewhere in Iraq began flocking to the provinces of Erbil, Sulaimani, Duhok and Halabja to enjoy resorts with relatively-milder climates to escape the 50 Celsius temperatures of southern Iraq.
Rusti told Rudaw that 339 of the accommodations and restaurants which were temporarily closed during ISIS conflict are reopening “except for few of them which have not been reopened due to personal or administrative issues.”
There are currently 625 hotels and 370 motels in service in Kurdistan Region, mostly located in the capital city of Erbil, according to the General Tourism Board.
Zirak Biya Ilya, the head of Erbil Lodgings Association, told Rudaw that the dramatic decrease in tourists in the last few years has led to the closure of 23 hotels in Erbil whose registrations were later “dissolved.”
But some hotels later were reopened and are now mostly fully-booked.
White Gardenia Hotel is an example it Erbil. It was closed three years ago due to slow business, but reopened two months ago. Tony Hares is its CEO.
“The improvement of Kurdistan Region’s economy and security and the increase of tourists made us return to Kurdistan to invest in the tourism sector in Erbil,” he said.
ISIS controlled vast swathes of Iraqi soil in 2014, turning some prosperous cities like Mosul into war-torn cities.
The election of Adil Abdul-Mahdi as prime minister of Iraq has helped to create an atmosphere where the social and political environment in Iraq paves the way for more tourists to spend their holidays in the Kurdistan Region.
Reporting by Rawa Abdulla
“In the first six months of this year, more than 1.7 million tourists have visited the Kurdistan Region. Compared to the first six months of last year there has been a 23-percent increase,” Nader Rusti, the spokesperson for the Kurdistan Region’s General Tourism Board told Rudaw on Monday.
He expects the number to reach 3.5 million by the end of the year. There are around 1,128 tourism accommodations and restaurants in the Kurdistan Region, but only 636 were actually open in 2016.
The others were temporarily closed or their buildings have been used for other purposes, according to a survey by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Survey Board conducted in 2017.
The Kurdistan Region was visited by millions of tourists in 2013 — mostly from other parts of Iraq. However the emergence ISIS and the ensuing chaos led to financial crises in Baghdad and Erbil, dramatically decreased tourism.
The Board also said in the survey that 3.7 million tourists visited Kurdistan Region in 2013, but the number dropped steadily until 2016 when it saw a 43-percent decrease.
However, in the last two-and-half years the situation has improved since the declared defeat of ISIS and a slight bounce back in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region’s economies.
As the ISIS focus has faded, people from elsewhere in Iraq began flocking to the provinces of Erbil, Sulaimani, Duhok and Halabja to enjoy resorts with relatively-milder climates to escape the 50 Celsius temperatures of southern Iraq.
Rusti told Rudaw that 339 of the accommodations and restaurants which were temporarily closed during ISIS conflict are reopening “except for few of them which have not been reopened due to personal or administrative issues.”
There are currently 625 hotels and 370 motels in service in Kurdistan Region, mostly located in the capital city of Erbil, according to the General Tourism Board.
Zirak Biya Ilya, the head of Erbil Lodgings Association, told Rudaw that the dramatic decrease in tourists in the last few years has led to the closure of 23 hotels in Erbil whose registrations were later “dissolved.”
But some hotels later were reopened and are now mostly fully-booked.
White Gardenia Hotel is an example it Erbil. It was closed three years ago due to slow business, but reopened two months ago. Tony Hares is its CEO.
“The improvement of Kurdistan Region’s economy and security and the increase of tourists made us return to Kurdistan to invest in the tourism sector in Erbil,” he said.
ISIS controlled vast swathes of Iraqi soil in 2014, turning some prosperous cities like Mosul into war-torn cities.
The election of Adil Abdul-Mahdi as prime minister of Iraq has helped to create an atmosphere where the social and political environment in Iraq paves the way for more tourists to spend their holidays in the Kurdistan Region.
Reporting by Rawa Abdulla