2024-02-12T21:00:24+00:00
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/ On Monday, the head of the Hotel Association in Najaf, Saeb Abu Ghneim, described what the tourism sector in Karbala and Najaf governorates was exposed to as “devastating”, pointing out that more than 3,000 workers were laid off as a result of the current circumstances witnessed by this sector in Najaf alone.
Abu Ghanem told Agency, “Religious tourism in Karbala and Najaf governorates depends primarily on Iranian visitors who constitute 80 percent of the total visitors, but in light of the sanctions and the fluctuation of the exchange rate in Iran, the costs of the visit are no longer suitable for everyone’s ability.”
He explains, “In the past years, $100 was equal to 100,000 tomans, but now it is equal to 5 million and 800 thousand tomans, so the Iranian visitor used to spend a maximum of $500 on his visit to the holy shrines, which is equal to 500 thousand tomans, but now these 500 thousand tomans are not enough for the visitor to do anything.”
He added, “The Iraqi government also opens – every year – during the days of the million visits (free visit) without tax, and food, transportation and services are free.”
As for the remaining 20 percent of visitors, they are Lebanese, according to Abu Ghneim, who explained that “their situation is similar to that of the Iranians from an economic perspective.”
He continued, “As for Gulf visitors, they choose the times that suit them, because their money has value. They come in small numbers and stay for a week or 10 days. As a result of the above, foreign tourism has been affected by more than 60 percent.”
As for domestic tourism, the head of the Najaf Hotels Association says, “Whoever comes to Karbala with his own car faces difficulty in reaching the shrine, which forces him to park his car in a distant parking lot, and these obstacles repel the visitor from staying for several days in the province. Likewise in Najaf when coming to areas close to the shrine, the obstacles are the same, in the midst of extreme weather, either scorching heat in the summer or very cold in the winter, which makes walking distances in this weather very difficult for visitors.”
He added, “In addition to the fact that the roads between the governorates are not secure, especially between Samawah, Diwaniyah and Amara, which are described as ‘the roads of death’, so transportation is not easy and there is no fluidity in them, which has led to domestic tourism being affected by up to 60 percent as well.”
As a result of these circumstances, the hotel sector in Najaf witnessed – according to Abu Ghanem – the layoff of more than 3,000 workers due to the closure of hotels or the decrease in their work.
He explains, “In Najaf there are more than 350 hotels, but currently there are 275 hotels, that is, 75 hotels, which constitute 20 percent, have been transformed into malls, hospitals, parks, or warehouses, which indicates the destruction of tourism.”
He continues, “As for the remaining 275 operating hotels, they operate at varying rates. The operating rate in those close to the Holy Mosque reaches – on average – 50 percent, while those far from the Holy Mosque, such as those on Karbala Road, Abu Sakhir Road, or Kufa Road, the operating rate in them is low and fluctuating.”