Iraqi Kurdistan tries to Lure Tourists

Coping strategies

So how are these stakeholders planning to address this situation? Layton insists that for any tourists who do wish to make the trip, security measures will be taken. “Of course, the turmoil down south does require adjustments. … Therefore, [our tour companies] do not visit any areas close to the borders that are in proximity to any potential violence,” he said.

Abdelrahman takes a similarly practical approach to the situation. Acknowledging that a cessation of hostilities may very well be a far-off prospect, she told Al-Monitor that she continues with the task of promoting Kurdish culture at home and abroad. Two Kurdish films have been released this past year, she noted, one even being nominated for an Academy Award. Abdelrahman has also helped Layton promote his "Kurdistan Tour Guide," published at the height of IS-bred turmoil in mid-2015.

The timing of the book launch may be interpreted as reflective of the Kurds’ refusal to be daunted by the IS threat. The Kurdish soldiers are known as peshmerga, "the one who faces death," and this attitude — one that is almost stubborn to the idea of surrender — has been widely used in Kurdish anti-IS propaganda. Layton told Al-Monitor, “[The tour guide] was sponsored by forward-thinking Kurdish corporations who, like us, wanted to send a message to the world that Kurdistan is not intimidated by IS.”

The "Kurdistan Tour Guide" certainly represents hope for Kurdistan’s tourism industry, and its extraordinary promotion in the United States — the book was hand-delivered to every member of Congress — is an attempt to generate cultural understanding about the Kurdistan Region, even when getting to the region itself seems impossible. Abdelrahman sees such activities as her duty, telling Al-Monitor that it’s about being “prepared for when the time comes for tourists to come back.”

Yet, the fact of the matter is that regardless of how successful these efforts may be, the future remains murky. Sarky told Al-Monitor that the events of the past years continue to “undermine international confidence in the region as a destination,” concluding sadly, “Socio-economic and political developments in the region will not allow tourism to develop well.”