The region talks about media intimidation: Tourism was not affected by the Turkish bombing

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[size=52]The region talks about media intimidation: Tourism was not affected by the Turkish bombing[/size]

[size=45]Erbil / Anas Al-Shamry[/size]
[size=45]“We live between the financial crisis and Erdogan’s missiles,” this is how Mustafa Hama Rashid, the owner of a popular restaurant in the city of Dohuk, described his condition, coinciding with the continuing Turkish attacks on Iraqi lands.[/size]
[size=45]A large number of earners in the Kurdistan region have been living on providing services to tourists from the central and southern cities of the country for a long time, but the financial crisis and the repeated Turkish bombing of the region's cities have become an obstacle to practicing this profession as it was before.[/size]
[size=45]Hama Rashid, 48, told Al-Mada, "In the Kurdistan region, we depend greatly on the turnout of tourists during the tourism seasons, most notably the summer, especially with the high temperature in the cities of the center and south, where large buses carry dozens of tourists from Baghdad, Salah al-Din, Karbala, Hilla and other provinces, to spend a few days in our areas, but the repeated Turkish attacks on the lands of the Kurdistan region, the latest of which was targeting the Barkh resort, has become a danger to us and the tourists, which has affected our livelihood by a significant percentage.”[/size]
[size=45]The owner of the restaurant adds, “In the past few years, we used to live in luxury compared to the current days, despite the salary crisis in the Kurdistan region, but we depend on tourists and the increasing demand here, but after the repeated Turkish bombing that targeted the depths of Iraqi territory, the turnout became weaker than before, and the impact of Our work.”[/size]
[size=45]He continues, "I used to receive about 50-70 tourists from the center and the south during the tourism season, but now I receive half the number or less daily... I don't think there are reasons behind this decrease in numbers other than the deterioration of the security situation due to the repeated Turkish bombardment." We have to live between the financial crisis and Erdogan’s missiles.”[/size]
[size=45]Fear of tourist areas[/size]
[size=45]Ahmed Al-Obeidi, a resident of Nineveh Governorate, is accustomed to spending a large amount of summer vacation in Dohuk Governorate, as well as taking tours between the resorts there, in which there are many stunning views and mountainous atmosphere that characterizes the Kurdistan Region... However, Al-Obeidi tells Al-Mada, “ I became afraid to go to the tourist places on the outskirts of Dohuk governorate, especially those near Zakho and the areas where Turkish attacks are frequent.”[/size]
[size=45]He continues, "But I did not leave the summer tourism in that city, so I started wandering inside Dohuk only, away from the places that have become dangerous as a result of the Turkish bombing, despite the fact that these areas are characterized by a mountainous character, as well as water springs and streams covered with high trees that were A large number of Mosul tourists are heading towards it,” noting that “Turkish missiles and drones have deprived us of comfortable tourism in our country.”[/size]
[size=45]government comment[/size]
[size=45]The Kurdistan Region Tourism Authority has underestimated the impact of the Turkish bombing on the tourism sector in the region, stressing that its tourism plans and programs have not been affected even in light of the repeated Turkish attacks, while noting that tourism companies are still flocking to the region.[/size]
[size=45]Ibrahim Abdul Majeed, director of media and relations for the authority, spoke to Al-Mada, saying that "the Turkish bombing did not affect the tourism sector in the Kurdistan region in a tangible way, and there is media intimidation in this regard. We are in constant contact with the tourism companies that continue to flock to the cities of the region." Abdul Majeed explains, "The Kurdistan region does not contain tourist areas in Zakho district, just to say that tourism has been affected as a result of the Turkish bombing. There are tourist areas, summer resorts and waterfalls in Erbil, Sulaymaniyah, Dohuk and other areas within the region." He added, "Tourist companies' buses re-visited Zakho after the Turkish bombing of the Barkh resort, five days after the tragic accident that killed a number of Iraqi citizens."[/size]
[size=45]He points out that "all the resorts are open in the Kurdistan region and receive tourists on an ongoing basis, but the Barkh resort is still closed due to investigations into the incident and not because of fears of a recurrence of the event."[/size]
[size=45]He explained, "The authority has phone numbers distributed to tourism companies coming from the central and southern governorates, and if any problem occurs with them, we intervene ... the lives of tourists are important to us."[/size]
[size=45]He added, "The authority is in constant contact with tourism companies, to inform them of the danger areas, and here we are talking about areas with war remnants or areas where Turkish bombing has been repeated."[/size]
[size=45]Abdul Majeed concludes, "Since the beginning of 2022 until today, we have received about 4 million tourists, and our program until the end of this year is to receive 6 million tourists.[/size]
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