ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdistan Region’s Erbil and Duhok provinces are preparing for a record number of visitors ahead of the upcoming New Year celebrations, officials confirmed, noting that all arrangements for the festivities have been finalized and that this year’s program is expected to surpass those of previous years.
Erbil Governor Omed Xoshnaw said on Saturday that all security and administrative arrangements for the New Year celebrations “have been finalized,” highlighting the “high-level coordination” between the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) agencies and security forces to implement a comprehensive plan.
He added that, under the plan coordinated with the Region’s General Directorate of Tourism and checkpoint security forces, “citizens arriving from Iraq’s central and southern provinces will be provided with significant facilitations.”
Xoshnaw further predicted an unprecedented turnout this year. “A record number of tourists is set to visit the capital of the Kurdistan Region at the end of the year,” he said, adding that Kurdish officials are “inviting everyone to visit Erbil and enjoy a peaceful holiday, with preparations more extensive and active than in previous years.”
The Open Market Festival, held outside Erbil’s historic Citadel, officially began on Saturday and will run for 10 days.
Meanwhile, in the Kurdistan Region’s northern Duhok province, local authorities told Rudaw that “we have yet to receive any official directives regarding New Year’s preparations.” Duhok Mayor Brindar Haider, however, noted that “two markets have already been inaugurated by the private sector” ahead of the festivities, with support from the KRG.
However, Shivan Abdi, a member of the New Year’s celebration organization committee in Duhok’s Zakho independent administration, told Rudaw that “this year, starting on the 26th of the month and lasting six days, several well-known artists will perform a series of concerts.”
Celebrations will be held at Dalal Bridge Square, with two large-scale markets opening at Dalal Bridge and Zakho Qishla (Citadel) for tourists to visit, Abdi added.
The General Directorate of Tourism in Zakho reported that around 120,000 tourists visited the area between December 21 and New Year’s Eve 2025. Organizers expect this number to be exceeded this year.
During holiday seasons, large numbers of visitors travel to the Kurdistan Region from across Iraq and beyond. Thanks to its relatively moderate temperatures compared to the rest of the country and its scenic landscapes, tourism in the Kurdistan Region has become a rapidly growing sector in recent years.
The KRG has also launched a number of initiatives to achieve its goal of attracting 20 million tourists annually by 2030.
Of note, the Kurdistan Region’s eastern provinces of Halabja and Sulaimani will forgo their annual New Year celebrations this year, in a show of solidarity with victims of the recent devastating floods, officials confirmed Sunday.
RELATED: Kurdistan’s eastern provinces skip New Year festivities in solidarity with flood victims
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