Iraq attempts to jump-start tourism

Qassem el-Sudani, Director of Media Relations for Iraq’s Ministry of Tourism announced that Iraq will be participating in the World Travel Market (WTM) scheduled to be held in London in November. He added that this will be the second time Iraq has participated to stimulate tourism and pave way for cooperation between Iraqi travel agencies and their international counterparts. Chairman of the Foreign Exhibition Committee, Mahmoud Abdel Jabar al-Zubaidi, said that the participation in the fair is part of a programme to support Iraqi travel agencies, hotels and restaurants and help them benefit international experiences in this regard. Sudani told Arab Today that the WTM is one of the most important events in the tourism sector, pointing out that major travel agencies and hotels from around the world will be participating in the fair. He said that the event will provide an important opportunity to discuss the approach officials should be adopting to develop the tourism sector. He also stated that a number of experts will attend the event representing the Iraqi private and public sectors. The official affirmed that during the last fair, the Iraqi delegation felt the desire of tourists from all over the world to visit Iraq. Sudani explained that religious and internal tourism witnessed notable development recently and said they were cooperating with a British travel agency to organise trips for tourists to Iraq, adding that Taiwanese travel agencies organise regular trips to Iraq.