Conference paves way for Erbil Tourism
Travel experts and companies from around the world attended the Kurdistan International Tourism Conference in Erbil last week, paving the way for Erbil’s position as Middle East Tourism Capital of 2014.
The Head of the General Board of Tourism, Mawlawi Wahab made the opening remarks during the Kurdistan international conference in Erbil, where he welcomed the delegates including officials from the federal Iraqi government as well as members of the international community.
“I would like to convey the wishes of the Iraqi government to the region on your success in getting Erbil selected as the 2014 Capital of Arab Tourism.” Said the Minister for Tourism and Archaeology Liwaa Smaisim who praised the rapid progress Erbil is undergoing particularly in the tourism sector with the number of visitors steadily increasing year after year.
The Governor of Erbil, Nawzad Hadi, thanked Minister Smaisim and his ministry for their assistance in securing the award “The Kurdistan Regional Government has allocated $20 million for this project and the people of Erbil are very proud to have their city selected as the capital of tourism. We are sure that this will provide an opportunity for Kurdistan as well as a Iraq as a whole to be looked at a in a more positive light by the international community. “He said.
Among the attendees were the Minister of Trade and Industry, Sinan Celebi, Dr. Bandar Bin Fahd Al Fahid, the heads the Arab Tourism Organization, members of the diplomatic community in Kurdistan and officials from the public and private sector.
