2023-04-26 13:44:33
With the advent of spring every year, hundreds of thousands of visitors from various Iraqi governorates flock to the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, which is reflected in a great stimulation of the movement of markets and the various economic and service sectors in the four provinces of the region, Erbil, Sulaymaniyah, Dohuk and Halabja.
The resorts, tourist and mountainous sites, as well as the centers of cities and towns, are crowded with visitors coming from all Iraqi governorates, as the regions of the region are generally characterized by their pleasant weather and green mountainous nature in this season.
Visitors go to tourist, recreational and heritage sites and sites in major cities, especially popular markets, public parks, large commercial complexes and game cities, while others go to resorts, parks and mountain resorts, which are characterized by their waterfalls, springs and dense vegetation.
Revitalizing domestic tourism
Experts believe that this regular influx of Iraqis from the rest of the provinces to the Kurdistan region during the spring and summer seasons and on holidays and New Year’s occasions provides an advanced model in the field of upgrading domestic tourism, and reveals that Iraq has the potential to develop a tourism industry that attracts tourists from abroad as well. Particularly from Arab countries.
Auspicious start
According to the Tourism Authority in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, the number of visitors and tourists has exceeded two million tourists during the first quarter of this year.
This figure reflects, according to observers, a remarkable increase in the number of visitors to the region, and opens horizons for it to expand investment in the tourism sector, and to employ its potentials and capabilities in this context.
Get out of the doldrums
Muhammad Abish, who runs a restaurant in the city of Sulaymaniyah, says in an interview with Sky News Arabia:
– Not only in spring, but also in various seasons, holidays, and religious and national occasions. Visitors and tourists from different regions of Iraq flock to the region, due to its advanced tourism and service facilities compared to the rest of the regions within the country, and its mild climate and the variety of entertainment options it offers. .
– But there is no doubt that on such days with the spring season, the influx of visitors from provinces such as Baghdad, Nineveh, Basra, and others, is naturally greater, as is observed this year, which we see through our customers.
– This drives the economy here, and activates various sectors, especially the hotels, restaurants, malls and tourist facilities sector, which is very important in light of the stagnation of markets and the fluctuation of the dollar exchange rate.
local alternative
Instead of bearing the exorbitant travel expenses abroad, the Iraqis find a suitable and promising local alternative, as the customs, traditions, and even the culture of food and drink are similar here in Kurdistan to what prevails in the rest of Iraq, and this explains why Iraqis generally prefer the region as a first tourist destination.
While the citizen Alaa says while visiting the region for the first time, in an interview with “Sky News Arabia”:
– I was very excited to visit Iraqi Kurdistan when I heard regarding its beautiful nature and good people from relatives and friends who constantly visit it during the holidays and the spring and summer holidays, and for this I decided to visit it during the Eid al-Fitr holiday.
– Even some low-income people can visit the region for the purpose of recreation and to spend an enjoyable vacation, as there are companies and tourism agencies in Baghdad and other Iraqi cities that provide regular trips to the various governorates of the region at very reasonable prices that are almost within everyone’s reach, where you can spend a few days by Participation in one of the tourist groups with amounts ranging between 70 thousand (regarding 50 dollars) to 100 thousand Iraqi dinars (regarding 70 dollars).
The Tourism Authority of the Kurdistan Regional Government announced earlier this year that more than 6 million tourists visited the region during 2022, most of them from the Iraqi central and southern governorates.
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