Ibrahim Abdulmajeed, head of the board’s media department, told Rudaw on Saturday that “we have entered a golden season of tourism in the Kurdistan Region - summer. We are making preparations to host as many tourists as possible.”
He added that they expect 300 thousand tourists to visit the Kurdistan Region, with Erbil province having the lion’s share. Tourists from Iraqi southern and central provinces make up the majority of tourists visiting the Region.
Eid al-Adha is an Islamic feast which will start on Wednesday and last for four days.
Most of the tourists visit resorts rather than city centres. Abdulmajeed said they plan to change this by encouraging the tourists to visit religious and archaeological sites as well.
About two million tourists have visited the Kurdistan Region in the first quarter of this year. Over six million tourists visited the Region last year, according to data provided by the board.
With its relatively more moderate temperature in comparison to the rest of the country, and the tremendous nature it has, the Kurdistan Region’s tourism has been a booming sector in recent years.
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) plans to attract 20 million tourists per year by 2030, Amal Jalal, the head of the board, told Rudaw on Thursday.
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