Iraq gears up for tourism
Iraq is poised to be a future tourism hotspot, according to the WTM Global Trends Report.
The report, in association with Euromonitor International, claims Iraqi tourism is growing fast with increased airline and hotel capacity.
More than a third of projects planned are underway, including a number of new hotel openings to cater for business and leisure tourism.
Airlines, including Lufthansa and Austrian Airlines, have also taken the decision to begin flying to the destination.
Last year visitors to Iraq totalled 1.3 million, with religious tourists, mainly from Iran, accounting for the large part.
Euromonitor International head of global travel and tourism research, Caroline Bremner, said: “Iraq’s tourism future looks bright driven by business travel demand.
“Some 700 tourism accommodation units are expected to spring up in the next four years including big names such as Rotana and Millennium and Copthorne.â€
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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