This plan aims to compensate for years of neglect of the sector, according to officials.
Mawlawi Jabar, head of the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) tourism department, told Rudaw, “The government plans to build around 40 tourist resorts in all three of the Kurdistan Region’s provinces, as well as a massive resort project on Safin Mountain.”
According to Jabar, more than half of the projects will be built in Sulaimani province which boasts many beautiful natural resorts.
The projects will include service centers and accommodations in villages in Garmian, Halabja, Rania, Dukan, and Qashqolly.
Erbil province’s popular mountainous holiday resorts such as Rawanduz, Shqlawa and Choman will also be revamped under the plan.
Jabar said, “My department intends to build a tourism museum and a resort village for treating skin diseases along with other advanced resort villages in Erbil next year.”
Kurdistan is home to several natural springs where locals and tourists from across Iraq visit the year round.
Among the biggest projects is the resort community in Safin Mountain, Erbil province. Jabar told Rudaw, “It will be similar in size and beauty to Sharm el-Sheikh resort in Egypt.”
According to Jabar, a Lebanese company has offered the blueprint for the project and another company will build the project.
The Kurdistan Region’s stability and security has over the past several years drawn tens of thousands of tourists from Iraq and neighboring Iran. Last year alone, more than 150,000 tourists visited the Kurdistan region, according to tourism department officials.
However, the lack of housing and particularly rest areas for the massive flood of travelers --especially in the summer and spring seasons -- has been a major challenge for Kurdistan authorities and tourists. Now, according to Jabar, rest areas and travel guides will be built across Kurdistan as part of the new master plan.
“We intend to build rest areas all over Kurdistan including in small towns and villages by next year,” Jabar said. “We will build rest areas every 20 kilometers. The rest areas will have maps and guides in different languages and include cafés, car maintenance and restrooms. We will build rest areas on every main road between the cities and towns.”
According to tourism department officials, Kurdistan authorities aim to bring at least 5 million tourists to the region annually by 2016.
Jabar said that based on feedback from foreign tourists, the Kurdish government may introduce horse tracks, golf courses and swimming pools.
An official from Sulaimani’s local administration who spoke to Rudaw on condition of anonymity praised these projects but he blamed some government officials for affecting the tourism sector.
“The land in most beautiful natural resorts has been occupied by officials where they have built their villas,” said the official who asked to remain anonymous. “If the land in Qaradax and Sytak weren’t taken, they could have been the most suitable places for tourism projects. But now the government has to use other lands for the projects.”
