Iraqi Kurdistan tourism in tatters as IS war drags on
 

https://s.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/0i...5e837458a5.jpgBillboards still read "Welcome to Arbil, 2014 Arab Tourism Capital," but most of the visitors Iraq's Kurdistan region welcomed last year were people made homeless by a jihadist offensive. It was supposed to be tourism's takeoff year but the Islamic State (IS) group's June onslaught dashed those hopes overnight when it plunged Iraq into chaos. "I can**t even talk about a decline in numbers, it's more like everything collapsed," said Hearsh Ahmad Karem, the manager of the Kurdistan Hotels and Restaurants Association. What was a growing $1 billion (885-million-euro) sector in 2013 came to a screeching halt when IS fighters took over large parts of Iraq **rth and west of Baghdad and moved within striking distance of Arbil.




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