Kurdistan resorts receive thousands of tourists during Eid

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Tens of thousands of tourists have visited Kurdistan Region’s resorts since Sunday, and the number is expected to increase even further in the coming days as Eid al-Adha celebrations continue.

Aram Shwani, a spokesperson for the Sulaimani tourism directorate, told Rudaw on Monday that around 75,000 tourists visited the province on the first day of Eid, with some then heading towards Halabja province.

Halabja province’s Hawraman region is a popular tourist spot, receiving hundreds of thousands of tourists on a yearly basis.

“We received around 15,000 tourists yesterday. The numbers are promising, and all the preparations have been made to welcome the visitors,” said Hawraman Jalal, media and communications head of Halabja tourism directorate, adding that they expect even more tourists in the coming days.

Between 20,000 to 25,000 tourists have visited Soran administration and its resorts in the last two days, according to Faisal Sadiq, head of Soran’s tourism directorate.

There are currently no official data on the number of visitors to Erbil and Duhok provinces.

Eid al-Adha is one of the two main Muslim holidays which started on Sunday and will continue for four days.

Hotels and restaurants have seen a surge in tourists in Sulaimani province and its Raparin administration during the Eid al-Adha celebrations.

Restaurants have experienced a bustling influx of tourists, mostly Arabs, Farman Hamid, the owner of a restaurant on a key route linking Ranya to Sulaimani and Erbil told Rudaw.

The Kurdistan Region is considered Iraq’s main tourism hub, with its moderate summer weather and cold winters, the Region welcomes Iraqi tourists throughout the year. The bulk of holidaymakers visiting the Kurdistan Region come from the southern and central provinces of Iraq, with the remaining tourists coming from countries outside of Iraq.

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in April said that 200 thousand tourists visited the Kurdistan Region during the Islamic holiday, Eid al-Fitr, adding that around 1.7 million tourists visited the Region in the first four months of the year.

The government plans to attract 20 million tourists per year by 2030. Over 7.2 million people visited the Kurdistan Region in 2023.