Baghdad – INA
The Tourism Authority at the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Antiquities confirmed on Saturday that the tourism sector has witnessed a great revival during the last three years, while noting that work in the tourist city of Ur has reached advanced stages, indicating that Iraq is about to experience a tourism revolution in Ur.
The head of the authority, Nasser Ghanem, told the Iraqi News Agency (INA): “The tourism sector has witnessed a great revival during the last three years, especially in 2025, with Baghdad receiving the title of capital of tourism, in addition to holding many conferences, tourism investments and opening many tourist facilities.”
He added that "most tourist facilities in Baghdad and the provinces are operating, with the exception of hotels which are suffering from some problems, while the rest of the sectors, such as restaurants, clubs and domestic tourism, are operating well," stressing "working through domestic tourism to compensate for the damage that has befallen the whole world due to the war."
He pointed out that “the year 2025 witnessed the visit of many foreign delegations to Iraq for tourism and to visit the archaeological sites in Babylon, Mosul and Nasiriyah,” indicating that “the city of Ur in Dhi Qar Governorate is about to experience a tourism revolution if the situation stabilizes, especially in the fields of archaeological and religious tourism.”
He explained that “religious tourism is not limited to the shrines of Imams (peace be upon them), but Iraq includes the Imams of Sufism and the Imams of the four schools of thought, and the country will witness activity in Christian religious tourism, which is planned to be one of the biggest aspects of tourism, especially in the city of Ur.”
He pointed out that “works in the tourist city of Ur have reached advanced stages, in addition to Nasiriyah Airport, where there is an integrated tourism strategy,” noting that “there are many large tourism investments, in addition to the opening of many large, high-level hotels being built in Iraq, as well as the development of the marshlands, which have come back to life and will be one of the tourist attractions.”
