During the three days of Erbil Tourism Exhibition last week 203 contracts were signed with 16 other countries to facilitate travel for tourists to and from the Kurdistan Region, the tourism office said.
The Middle East Tourism Exhibition was attended by 200 tourism companies and agencies from the Kurdistan Region, Iraq and 16 foreign countries.
The contracts were signed with Kuwait, Jordan, Egypt, Tunis, Lebanon, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Iran, Turkey and Belarus. Other contracts were signed too among local companies.
In an attempt to increase revenue, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has been over the past two years working on developing and upgrading the region’s tourism sector. Last year, the KRG collected 3.530 billion Iraqi Dinars in taxes from companies, hotels, motels, restaurants and tourist attractions.
The KRG is hoping that these exhibitions can attract more tourists to the Kurdistan Region. The Kurdistan Region has been paying special attention to this sector, particularly after the KRG formed the General Body of Tourism in 2011.
