French firm offers trip to Kurdistan, 'the other Iraq'
Following a British company which leads the market in tours to Iraq's autonomous northern region of Kurdistan, a Paris-based travel agent yesterday added Iraq to its brochure, saying French tourists had signed up wanting an "original experience" and to meet local people "behind the news".
Geoff Hann, of Surrey-based Hinterland Travel, the leading operator in the region who even ran a postwar tour of southern Iraq in October 2003, said he had led 150 people on tours to Iraqi Kurdistan over the past three to four years.
"It's not that easy to sell because of the media image of Iraq - people think they can't go there. And as a tour operator leading the group, it can be expensive and difficult to organise guides and transport because of a lack of infrastructure. But otherwise it's delightful. Mostly security is fine in Kurdistan," he said...
Full story: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/sep/10/iraq.france
