Faisal Sadiq, head of Soran’s tourism directorate, said that over 50,000 visitors spent the night in Soran, stressing that they believe the actual number to be much higher.
“We were expecting this number of visitors based on several indications. For example, there are many attractive spots, temperature levels are very appropriate,” Sadiq told reporters during a presser, adding that many have resorted to Soran to avoid the summer heat.
Eid al-Adha is one of the two main Muslim holidays which started last Sunday and continued for four days.
The Kurdistan Region is considered Iraq’s main tourism hub, with its moderate summer weather and cold winters, the Region welcomes Iraqi tourists throughout the year. The bulk of holidaymakers visiting the Kurdistan Region come from the southern and central provinces of Iraq, with the remaining tourists coming from other countries.
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in April said that 200 thousand tourists visited the Kurdistan Region during the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Fitr, adding that around 1.7 million tourists visited the Region in the first four months of the year.
The government plans to attract 20 million tourists per year by 2030. Over 7.2 million people visited the Kurdistan Region in 2023.
