Kurdistan prepares for Eid Al-Fitr tourism season
Shafaq News/ Authorities in the Kurdistan Region completedpreparations to welcome tourists for Eid Al-Fitr, with expectations of largenumbers arriving, particularly from central and southern Iraq.
The Spokesperson for the Al-Sulaymaniyah Tourism DirectorateKoran Qader told Shafaq News that it is difficult to provide an accurateestimate of the number of expected visitors, pointing out that several factorscould affect tourist numbers, including the economic situation of citizens, thecoincidence of the holiday with the end of the school year, and the situationin neighboring countries. “However, we still expect a large influx of touriststo Al-Sulaymaniyah."
Mahmoud Tawfiq, head of the Al-Sulaymaniyah Restaurant andHotel Association, explained that it had been agreed that all restaurantsauthorized to operate during Ramadan would remain open during the Eid holiday,with more than 120 restaurants in total, alongside the full operation of hotelsto accommodate guests. He also mentioned that there would be strict monitoringof prices and service quality.
"Any facility not adhering to the specified standardswill face penalties," Ibrahim Abdulhamid, spokesperson for the KurdistanRegion's Tourism Authority, stated to Shafaq News, revealing coordinationbetween the Tourism Authority and travel companies, with over 200 touroperators organizing trips to the Region.
Regarding tourism traffic, Abdulhamid noted that "alarge number of foreign tourists visited the region during the Nowruzcelebrations and participated in events and festivals held for theoccasion."
More than 25,000 tourists from Iraq entered Al-Sulaymaniyahthrough the Tasluja border crossing in last year’s Fitr holiday, according to astatement by the Directorate of Tourism.
