ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Nearly half a million people visited Halabja for its annual pomegranate festival that generated 1.7 billion dinars in revenue over the course of three days, officials announced on Saturday.
“According to our statistics, the number of visitors and tourists reached 419,700 people,” said Chia Qasim, head of Halabja’s Tourism Directorate. “Between 35 and 40% of these tourists also visited other attractions in the region, with accommodations at all sites fully booked for over a week, through Sunday and Monday.”
Halabja’s Pomegranate and Autumn Festival is an annual celebration of the harvest with the province’s famed pomegranates the star attraction.
“Fortunately, it provided a very good opportunity to promote and sell those products,” said Sattar Mahmoud, general director of Halabja’s Agriculture Directorate.
Total revenues reached 1.7 billion dinars, 700 million of that from produce, 800 million from food vendors and 200 million from handicraft sales, according to Mahmoud, who said these numbers could increase over the next few days.
Halabja District Mayor Semko Salar praised the security forces for their efforts during the three-day event, noting that “despite the large number of tourists and visitors, we did not experience any incident worth mentioning.”
Salar also thanked the volunteers who helped the festival run smoothly.
Halabja Governor Nuxsha Nasih thanked everyone who helped organize the successful festival. She also thanked the farmers who “have revived the true spirit of this city.”
Attendance at this year’s festival was significantly higher than previous years. Last year, it attracted 285,000 visitors, while the previous year saw 270,000 people attend.
The Kurdistan Region annually produces more than 80,000 tons of pomegranates, with nearly 30,000 tons coming from Halabja province, according to government data. In 2022, pomegranates from Halabja were exported to Gulf countries for the first time, marking the Region's first non-oil export and a landmark step in efforts to broaden the economy.
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