Ali al-Musavi, a hotel owner in Karbala, told Al-Monitor, “The private sector provides services for visitors, despite the lack of governmental support. Most facilities are part of this sector, which needs development through encouraging investment.”
Thus, the private sector benefits the most from religious visits, as revenues are not added to the state’s treasury because the law does not impose taxes on religious tourism in Iraq. The financial crisis has had its toll on religious tourism in Iraq.
The head of the economics department at the Iraqi Al-Sabah newspaper, researcher and correspondent Hussein Thaghab, told Al-Monitor, “Saving religious tourism from the abyss of the financial crisis requires organizing the pillars of religious tourism in line with local and international interest. Millions of people visit religious shrines yearly, but those visits do not give back significant returns to the federal budget.”
Thaghab called for “building an infrastructure that is suitable for the large number of visitors. Markets, restaurants and entertainment centers are needed, in addition to a modern transportation network, high-caliber hotels, touristic companies that cater to the needs of tourists like tourist guides and advanced communication means.”
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