Press Releases
View All Press Releases| WTM | 08 Nov 2009 |
A Nice Relaxing Holiday In… Iraq?
An Iraqi delegation is at London’s World Travel Market next week to sell the country as a tourism destination
Could Iraq be the next tourism hotspot?
An offical Iraqi delegation is attending World Travel Market, the premier global event for the travel industry, next week promoting the country as a tourism destination.
The delegation of Iraqi officials, led by Tourist Board of Iraq Chairman Hammoud al-Yaqoubi, is attending World Travel Market at ExCeL – London to lead the country’s economic and social regeneration following the formation of a permanent government in May 2006.
It will be the first time Iraq has attended a travel trade event in Europe for more than a decade, as al-Yaqoubi looks to promote Iraq as a viable tourism destination to the travel industry.
The Iraq delegation – which also includes Director of International Relations Hassain Taha Ibrahim – aims to speak to potential investor to help it create a tourism infrastructure and renovate its 784 hotels.
The ancient cities of Babylon and Ur are key tourism sites, whilst Baghdad was for centuries the intellectual capital of the Islamic world, leading in astronomy, literature, mathematics and music. According to some historians, the Garden of Eden is 50 miles north of Basra, the city from which Sinbad set sail in The Thousand and One Nights. With 5,000 years of history, Mesopotamia is the cradle of civilization.
Yorkshire-based tour operator Hinterland Travel is the only European travel company current offering tours of Iraq.
Hinterland Travel Managing Director Geoff Hann, who has pioneered the return of tourism to Iraq: “Tourism is in its infancy after the problems of recent years, but the sites are worth seeing and this really is where civilization began”.
Following his most recent tour last month, he commented: “The mood in Iraq was upbeat, vibrant and improving daily. The security situation ensured that we could see almost all of the important sites, but for the foreseeable future all visitors should pack some patience and flexibility!”
World Travel Market Chairman Fiona Jeffery said: “It may be in its infancy but Iraq has the potential to become a viable tourism destination, just like Vietnam, Cambodia and closer to home Croatia and the other former Yugoslavian countries.
“In the past, tourism has played a major role in helping to regenerate a number of countries affected by war. In the future, tourism has the potential to make Iraq a more prosperous country by creating jobs and wealth to the country.”
Almost 50,000 travel industry professionals will attend World Travel Market, the premier global event for the travel industry, between Monday November 9 and Thursday November 12 to negotiate contracts and discover the industry latest trends and statistics.
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About World Travel Market
World Travel Market, the premier global event for the travel industry, is the must-attend four-day business-to-business exhibition for the worldwide travel and tourism industry.
Almost 50,000 senior travel industry professionals, government ministers and international press, embark on London’s ExCeL Centre every November to network, negotiate and discover the latest industry opinion and trends at WTM.
WTM, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2009, is the event where the travel industry conducts and concludes its deals.
WTM is owned by the world’s leading events organiser Reed Exhibitions (RE), which organises a portfolio of other travel industry events including Arabian Travel Market and International Luxury Travel Market.
RE holds more than 500 events in 38 countries throughout Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific covering 47 industry sectors including aerospace & aviation, healthcare, manufacturing and sport & recreation.
In 2008 RE, part of the Reed Elsevier group, brought together more than six million industry professionals from around the world generating billions of dollars in business.
