Iraqi Kurdistan is a Booming Place for Tourism, says Al-Basmala Company

The Kurdistan Region is one of the most promising emerging destinations for investments and business opportunities. The region has huge resources of oil and gas. However, it is in the middle of a very unstable region. What, in your opinion, should investors know about Kurdistan? What are the opportunities, the challenges or the negatives?

First, let me welcome you to Kurdistan, which is considered a gate to Iraq. It has many opportunities for investments. We also have many American, European, and neighboring countries’ companies operating here in all sectors because nowadays the region is considered as a booming place for investments. Also, there is a lot of work to be done when it comes to construction, contracting, commerce and trading because our region is in need of all the efforts to develop the infrastructure, tourism and construction, along with many other sectors like oil and natural resources found in Kurdistan. You also need to keep in mind that you can head out from Kurdistan to Baghdad and all other Iraqi provinces since many of the companies are based in Erbil so they launch their operations from here to serve other cities like Baghdad, Kirkuk, Basrah and the rest of the Iraqi provinces. As for investments, any foreign company can come and invest in Kurdistan, whether in commerce, industry, agriculture or even hospitals (healthcare).

How do you see the prospects for future developments within the business tourism industry? What is the market potential? Maybe you can give us some statistics about the industry.

Kurdistan is considered to be a booming place for tourism because of the water, mountains, valleys, and plain sceneries along with the nice atmosphere. Until 2003 there was no tourism in Kurdistan. Then after the change of regime people started to build more hotels, tourist attractions, sport places and restaurants. Starting a tourism project in Kurdistan is considered to be very profitable. Also, the region will be Iraq’s capital for tourism in 2014.

As a hotel entrepreneur and developer, how do you play the market? What kind of strategy are you using?

We lack services that provide proper promotions for the hotels in our region. We are in need of companies that would come here to organize campaigns and trips to the neighboring countries. We also wish to see foreigners coming from outside to spend summer vacations and experience the tourism here. And as I said earlier, we have huge hotel projects underway in the region that are still to be completed, like Hilton, Sheraton and other 5-star hotels.

In your opinion, what are the factors that make you believe in the tourism and hotel sector in the Kurdistan Region?

That is a known fact. I clearly remember how the tourists from Europe and other Arab countries, especially the ones from the Arabian Gulf area, would come to Kurdistan in the 1960’s. I clearly remember that era when they used to go to Lebanon and come to Erbil to spend summer vacation because the Kurds know how to host and welcome guests and tourists.

In regards to trading with brands, do you feel that the trading is still in a development stage? Or do you think there are many brands that already started to compete in the market?

No, we don’t have many brands in the market. The country is in a demand of almost everything, including raw materials. For example, now we have a goal where we want to develop ourselves and build factories here involving all sectors (such as the food industry and agriculture) and then just settle with importing raw materials from outside in case such materials are not found here. Again, when it comes to raw materials, Kurdistan is like all of Iraq. We need raw materials and other kinds of products because the locally made products are still limited in quantity. So, we started a development plan for Kurdistan wherein we will attract deals to build factories and not just buy goods. We want to support the workforce so they can also benefit and not just settle with importing ready-made goods.

Now a question about the challenges that face you as an international businessman, since you travel abroad a lot. What do you think are the challenges of this market when compared to other countries?

Before we used to face hardships when it came to traveling from Kurdistan to other countries. Yet in the recent years we didn’t witness any negative changes since the region is working toward development. Even the people from Baghdad visiting us would think they are in a different country – noticing the differences between Kurdistan and Baghdad in terms of architectural, cultural and social aspects. Also, we couldn’t get visas before. We couldn’t travel outside to other countries. But now things are different since other countries witnessed the possibilities for work and investments here. They start having consulates and bring their companies to operate in Kurdistan, and at the same time, they would offer visas to local businessmen, tourists, and even the ones seeking specialized medical care. I would also like to mention that we have big hospitals here with qualified local and foreign medical staff. Thus, getting a visa to the U.S., Europe, Japan, and South East Asia became easy and normal – opening the door for the Kurdish businessman to visit all markets in all countries easily.

What do you think are the secrets of doing business in Kurdistan, and what does it take for a company to be successful in Kurdistan?

One can meet success within many fields. For example, if we are talking about investment projects that may interest foreign companies, then it is known that the door is still open for them. We have vast fertile lands suitable for agriculture or cattle, or even for industrial strategic projects. We also welcomed companies that came to work in housing or infrastructure projects and met huge success. There is also the oil sector. But if you ask me, I would say that working in the food and animal sectors is the most profitable.