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Iraqi News
12-03-2025
- Business
- Iraqi News
Culture Ministry : Plan to establish an archaeology museum and tourist city in Najaf Al-Ashraf
The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Antiquities announced on Wednesday the establishment of a tourist city in Najaf Al-Ashraf at a cost of more than 100 million dollars as part of plans to support tourism in Iraq, while pointing to the development of a five-year plan to promote the archaeological sector in Iraq. The head of the ministry's tourism authority, Nasser Ghanem Murad, told the Iraqi News Agency (INA): 'There are new plans to support the tourism sector in Iraq, including providing wide facilities for tourist hotels, tax exemptions, canceling interest and late fines, in addition to scheduling debts if any, as well as supporting these hotels with electricity through special coordination with the Ministry of Electricity.' Regarding tourists coming from neighboring countries, Murad stressed that 'dealing with the Iranian side has been reformulated to facilitate the entry of Iranian pilgrims,' stressing 'the need to give hotels and tourism companies a role in setting prices that ensure their continuity without losses that may lead to their closure or affect their work.' Regarding the development of archaeological sites and support for major tourism projects, Murad explained that 'there is great coordination between the Tourism Authority and the Antiquities Authority, as it has been directed to work jointly to promote the archaeological sector, as one of the main pillars to revitalize tourism in Iraq,' noting that 'there are important projects under implementation.' He pointed to 'the importance of developing archaeological sites such as Al-Ukhaidir Fortress and others, while ensuring the provision of integrated tourism components for visitors,' noting that 'there is a five-year plan to promote the archaeological sector and increase the archaeological areas that are ready to receive tourists.' He pointed out that 'the idea of establishing an archaeological museum in Najaf was presented to the Minister of Tourism and the Antiquities Authority, with the allocation of land for this project,' noting that 'all Iraqi provinces have an archaeological heritage that deserves to be displayed and documented.'
Zawya
10-03-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Iraq seeks to monetise archaeological sites to attract 1mln tourists: Report
Iraq's Tourism Authority is working on a plan to attract one million tourists to its archaeological sites over the next five years, a senior government official has said. The plan will be submitted to the tourism ministry soon, Nasser Ghanem Murad, head of the Tourism Authority, to Ashraq Business, an Arabic financial portal. He said the government is paying special attention to developing archaeological sites across the various Iraqi cities such as Baghdad, Mosul, Babylon, and Ur, among others. Murad said that Baghdad, the capital of Iraq, needs 30,000 four- and five-star hotel rooms to accommodate its ambitious target of tourist numbers. He added that new hotels are being built with investments of more than $200 million, which will be managed by global hospitality chains such as Movenpick, Rixos and others, the report said. (Writing by P Deol; Editing by Anoop Menon) (
Shafaq News
14-02-2025
- Business
- Shafaq News
Iraq gains UN tourism leadership role
Shafaq News/ Iraq was elected on Friday, as the deputy chair of the Middle East Committee at the United Nations World Tourism Organization. In its official statement, the country's tourism authority stated that Iraq secured the deputy chairmanship, during the 51st meeting of the committee, an event also attended by the Arab Ministers of Tourism as well as officials from several member states. 'This is a significant achievement for Iraq,' said Nasser Ghanem Murad, head of the Tourism Authority, who led the Iraqi delegation. 'It reflects our growing presence on the regional tourism map and paves the way for stronger partnerships with our neighbors.' The meeting also served as a platform to promote Iraq's tourism potential, as the country aims to attract $7 billion in tourism investments by 2025. The delegation held discussions with officials from several Arab countries to explore opportunities for cooperation and future projects in the tourism sector. During the event, the Iraqi representatives distributed souvenirs to participants, including copies of the booklet "Baghdad: Arab Tourism Capital 2025", as well as carpets decorated with images of historical and archaeological sites, and medals bearing the logo of Baghdad as the Arab capital of culture and tourism. Notably, Iraq is preparing to host several events marking Baghdad's selection as the Arab Tourism Capital in 2025.
