A general view of Sulaimani (File)
AM:09:22:06/09/2021
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SULAIMANI — Spokesperson for Sulaimani Tourism Directorate Aram
Shwani said on Sunday (September 5) that more than 750,000 tourists visited the
governorate since the beginning of 2021, nearly 95% of whom were from central
and southern Iraq.
Shwani told state-run Iraqi News Agency (INA) that the rest
were from Iran and other countries.
He said that officials have "verbal” plans to support
tourism sector but they require great work and efforts.
Shwani estimated that if each tourist had spent $200, then
the total revenue of tourism in the governorate would be more than $150 million for the first eight months of 2021.
He said that the financial revenues will not return to the
government's public treasury directly, but go to the professionals, businesspeople
and the owners of investment projects in the governorate.
On May 16, Shwani said that more than 100,000 tourists,
mostly from central and southern Iraq, visited the governorate during Eid
al-Fitr.
Holiday tourism is a major source of income for the
Kurdistan Region, but the industry has been hit hard by the coronavirus
pandemic.
(NRT Digital Media)