Baghdad eyes 10M tourists, 1.5M jobs by 2035
Shafaq News- Baghdad
Iraq is targeting 10 million visitors and 1.5 million tourism-related jobs by 2035, seeking to turn its ancient heritage, religious sites and varied landscapes into a larger industry while reducing its heavy reliance on oil.
The Tourism and Antiquities Authority at the Ministry of Culture, in cooperation with the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), held a workshop in Baghdad on Saturday to develop a national tourism strategy through 2035, bringing together officials, academics and tourism specialists.
The workshop was the first of five planned in Baghdad, Erbil, Karbala, Mosul and Basra.
Matthias Bach, head of GIZ's Economic Transformation Promotion Department, noted that reaching the targets will require closer cooperation between the government and private sector, adding that the vision calls for a single strategy involving both sides.
Iraq's reliance on oil remains one of the main challenges to developing tourism. Deputy Culture Minister Qasim Mohsen estimated that about 90% of the country's revenues come from oil sales.
"Everyone knows that the country's economy is rentier-based," Mohsen remarked, calling for greater efforts to attract visitors and promote Iraq's historical, religious, cultural and natural assets.
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Tourism adviser Omar al-Alawi described the limited development of the industry as a paradox given Iraq's natural and cultural assets listed as World Heritage Sites. "The country has the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and varied landscapes across its provinces," he observed, stressing that tourism was not a central part of government programs after 2003 and was not developed as an industry or major source of national income.
Al-Alawi also recalled that limited initiatives under the first five-year plan, covering 1975 to 1977, led to the operation of several facilities that encouraged domestic tourism.
Academics and university professors also contributed recommendations at the workshop. Mohammed Al-Obaidi, Dean of the College of Tourism Sciences at Al-Mustansiriyah University, indicated that proposals from the college would be developed into recommendations for tourism officials as part of the strategy.
The strategy's scope also extends beyond archaeological and religious tourism. Iraqi actress Hind Kamil pointed to the limited development of domestic arts tourism, noting difficulties facing cinema and theater despite the recent opening of some cinemas in Baghdad shopping malls.
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