Baghdad – WAA
The Iraqi Tourism Sectoral Council announced today, Tuesday, the development of a strategy to promote archaeological and tourist sites and holy shrines, while stressing the work with ministries and sectoral bodies to highlight Iraq as a tourist destination.
The head of the council, Aziz Al-Tamimi, stated in a statement received by the (INA), that “the tourism sector council has developed a tourism strategy and study, in cooperation with UNESCO, the body that supervises the work of the council, and with the combined efforts of the relevant ministries and the role of the Iraqi national media in all its visual, audio and print channels, and with the participation of the private sector, until we work as one beehive in order to highlight and promote all the archaeological and tourist sites and holy shrines in the land of my country, the two rivers, from the south to the north.”
He added, “The Council is working to highlight Iraq as a tourist destination in line with the government program drawn up by Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani and with all supporting parties.”
He pointed out that “the current year 2024 was distinguished in terms of the success of the Arbaeen pilgrimage season, as the number of visitors to the holy Karbala reached more than 21 million between Iraqis and visitors from various Arab and foreign countries, which was rewarded by the efforts of the Tourism Sector Council with the participation of the ministries concerned with the Council’s program, along with UNESCO, the Ministries of Planning, Education and Higher Education, the Ministry of Labor, and all the parties supporting the tourism sector, the Tourism Authority, and the hotels of the holy Karbala, and they contributed greatly to the success of the drawn-up tourism plans.”
He stressed the “importance of the prominent role played by the holy shrines of Imam Hussein and Abbas, and the popular and community activities represented in the Husseini processions and the efforts of the service departments, and the governor of Karbala and all the ministries and bodies supporting the plan, which showed a mature and integrated picture of the importance of Karbala Governorate and the special nature of this governorate for Iraqis and all the peoples of the world.”