Iraq - The New Adventure Tourism Destination
Baghdad, Iraq (TML) - It doesn't seem like the ideal location for a vacation, and yet Iraq has managed to appeal to a daring few who are intrigued by the country's rich history, culture, archeology and more recently, Saddam Hussein's legacy.
Official figures on the exact number of visitors are lacking, but anecdotal evidence and Internet discussions suggest interest in this destination is growing.
"I would characterize the typical tourist in Iraq as an independent, experienced traveler with a sense of wanderlust and adventure," Lonely Planet author César G. Soriano told The Media Line. "It's exciting to visit a virgin destination that has not yet been touched - or ruined - by a massive tourist influx."
Soriano has traveled extensively in Iraq as a journalist, but in his research for the Iraq chapter in the May 2009 edition of the Lonely Planet Middle East, he restricted himself to the Kurdish area in northern Iraq, known as Iraqi Kurdistan.
"The Lonely Planet does NOT recommend foreigners travel to Arab regions of Iraq, which constitute about 70% of the country, from Kirkuk and Mosul in the north to Basra in the south," he warned. "Compared to war-torn regions of Arab Iraq, Iraqi Kurdistan is another world. It's no wonder that the country's tourism slogan is 'The Other Iraq'!"
Full story: http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7017398937
