Expectations of doubling the number of tourists for more than two million by the year 2015

Expectations of doubling the number of tourists for more than two million by the year 2015



08/06/2013 12:00 AM

Researcher calls for addressing the challenges of the tourism sector

Baghdad - Mostafa Hashemi

Facing the tourism activity in Iraq, a series of challenges that must be addressed in order to be starting to build tourist activities and cultural effective and influential through the exploitation of opportunities and favorable conditions, as the evolution in tourism activity global impact is not quite in the tourist activity in Iraq, as the number of tourists - according to one of the researchers - from about 5.0 million people in 2007 to 1.5 million in 2010, which increased to three times, while doubling tourism revenues nearly three-fold for the same period also requires the exploitation of all these opportunities for the advancement of tourism in Iraq at a time when being search for alternative financial resources for oil revenues to get rid of the rentier Ahadath in general budget support. challenges



The researcher said economic Aya Adel Hassan: The challenges of the tourism sector in Iraq is the limited financial resources directed to tourism activity of various economic sectors and confined to narrow aspects.

It said Hassan told the (morning) that the weakness and backwardness of supplementary services of transport, housing and other magnets also of the challenges as well as procedures for receiving tourist complex and the necessary facilities in the residence, which led to lack of development of yield tourism as required, as well as the low awareness of tourism and weak protection of sites archaeological.



Tourism calendar



And called Hassan based on the tourism sector in Iraq to assess the investment performance of the tourism activity, in addition to finding the best ways to increase revenue and the number of tourists through attention to network infrastructure services, pointing to the need for maintenance and the provision of facilities in the areas of religious and archaeological, and dissemination of tourism awareness to individuals working in the sector.

She stressed the importance of encouraging work products craft that are reflective of cultural heritage, cultural and arts social life associated with the norms of various including attracts tourists to its request for acquisition and this is what will do the productive goal industries craftsmanship that went down a lot, even though it provides jobs for the unemployed as well.



Increase revenue



She noted the researcher to the possibility of increasing tourism revenue through the provision of luxury items or heritage, pointing to events and developments in the activity of international tourism influenced, whether the emergence of economic blocs or switch to style traditional tourism, and development of information technology, and the recent events on the performance of the tourism activity in Iraq.

It showed that tourist demand, highly elastic, so there is a direct relationship between the number of tourists and between services and maintenance and facilities in the areas of religious and archeological sites in Iraq in the sense the economic effects interrelationship between tourism and activate other services.



Tourism development



And can identify the most important developments in the tourism sector in the country and summarized to increase the degree of cooperation between tourism companies, hotels and transport in order to provide a comfortable ride and distinctive.

Referring to evolution in the methods of operation and marketing, finance, reliance on information technology, and the transition to new patterns such as the environment, tourism and therapeutic, beaches and sports tourism Kalsafari the addition to the prevailing religious tourism.

Craft products



It showed the researcher economic importance of the subject traditional crafts locally and globally in terms of economic, social and tourism and cultural heritage and for its contribution to improving the standard of living of individuals and families engaged in and provided many jobs in remote rural areas and linked to tourism closely as buying products most foreign tourists, so it can be included within temptations cultural group that comes along with the natural temptations to attract tourists.

She explained that the craft industries in Iraq are weak financially and lacking cadres professional to work in, as well as its lack of ports marketing organization and advanced adoption mostly on selling self-direct, in order to promote, support and protect them from extinction and to ensure continuity and upgrade them through research and study the reality of traditional industries and products craft and stand on the problems and difficulties faced by working to find a solution.



Increasing tourist revenue



Hassan indicated that the number of tourists increased from 0.5 million people in 2007 to 1.5 in 2010, according to statistics from the Ministry of Tourism and that this figure will increase to 2.2 million people in 2015, tourist attractions doubled to about four times . She explained that the annual revenue will also increase so that in 2015 about 1633 million dollars, after that it was about 1216 million U.S. dollars in 2010, where one tourist spends up to seven nights during which Iraq has visited the holy places.

Pointing out that the average tourist spending was limited within the aggregates prices as the average tourist spending $ 806 for both tourists and includes transportation and tourism program, food and accommodation and shopping. Asserting that this figure is low than spend the tourist other neighboring countries, which requires the development of services for the tourist areas and increase both religious areas, archaeological and exploited to attract the largest number of tourists and the provision of goods and heritage of luxury and work to increase the numbers and spending tourists annually as part of an ambitious program.



Activity acceptable tourist



It concluded the researcher to say that and to find out whether the tourist activity is acceptable in economic terms or not, were compared internal rate of return of tourism activity with the cost of money, if increased them is tourism activity is acceptable, but if Tell them it is not acceptable, and what was the cost of money in Iraq is about 8 percent, and that the internal rate of return of tourism activity achieved (about 15.2 percent), (16.3 percent) for the periods in a row, that would be considered a tourist activity is acceptable, but considered the second period more efficient investment so as to achieve conditions of economic efficiency, or in other words, efficiency outweigh the marginal opportunity cost of this investment.

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