By John Lee. Iraqi oil minister Jabar Ali al-Luaibi [Allibi] has ordered the completion of a new tourism facility at Muftiya City, on the Shatt al Arab. The 38-acre water city will included a waterpark, a leisure resort for families, and an aquarium. There will also be a zoo over 52 acres, a closed football […]
By Simon Kent. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is rising again in Iraq, The Wall Street Journal reports. The piece notes General Electric's billion dollar contract in January, which is of course government spending, to highlight how multi-nationals are increasingly confident as the self declared Islamic State begins to collapse. The piece also notes how FDI is […]
By Adnan Abu Zeed for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. The ruins of the city of Babil, some 56 miles south of Baghdad, flourished as the ancient Mesopotamian capital of Babylon, founded in the 19th century BC. Since that time, the city has suffered […]
By John Lee. BasNews quotes the Head of the Kurdistan Restaurant and Hoteliers Association, Hersh Ahmad, as saying that 74 of the region's 2,500 hotels have closed down in Erbil recently: “The main reason is the fight against the Islamic State (IS) ... And those which still operate have fired 50% of their staff, increasing […]
By John Lee. As long term observers of events in Iraq, the team at Iraq Business News thought we might have seen just about every unexpected story from a nation that continues to surprise. We'd heard of the popularity of the Japanese comic character Hello Kitty in Iraq or the trend among some young Iraqis for playing […]
By John Lee. Arab Bridge Maritime, the joint venture established by the governments of Iraq, Jordan and Egypt in 1985, is planning a two ferry service between Basra and Dubai. The venture will initially cost $2 million per year based on the hiring cost of the ferries, and if successful the ferries will be purchased, […]
By John Lee. Direct flights between Kuwait and Iraq have resumed after 2 decades, Mawtani reports. After initially starting at 2 flights a week, the eventual aim is to have daily flights, according to Iraqi Airways company director Capt. Saad al-Khafajy. Al-Khafajy was optimistic about flying more passengers between the two countries on Iraq's national carrier, noting […]
This article was originally published by Niqash. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Erbil’s Big Challenge: Tourists vs. Locals in Fight for Facilities This year the northern Iraqi Kurdish city of Erbil must live up to its hard won title, Capital of […]
Travel experts and companies from around the world attended the Kurdistan International Tourism Conference in Erbil last week, paving the way for Erbil's position as Middle East Tourism Capital of 2014. The Head of the General Board of Tourism, Mawlawi Wahab made the opening remarks and welcomed the delegates who included officials from the federal […]
Ask anyone where the most expensive property is in Iraq and you might expect to hear Baghdad, the capital, or Basra, the hub of the southern oil industry. But according to this report, the highest prices are being paid for development land in Karbala, site of the shrine of Imam al-Hussein, the grandson of the […]
By John Lee. An estimated 112.000 tourists visited the Kurdistan region during Eid festivities, according to a report from Aswat Al Iraq. The region's Investment Commission said the figures were 10 percent less than the previous year. The drpo has been attributed to the recent explosions, the closure of markets and shops, and the higher […]
By Haider Najm. This article was originally published by Niqash. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. In May, the northern city of Erbil was declared Tourism Capital for the Middle East region for 2014. As Lebanese and Turkish investors compete to spend […]
