French Firm Offers Trip to Kurdistan, 'the Other Iraq'

With foreign occupation, violent resistance and sectarian bloodshed making it one of the world's most dangerous countries, Iraq might not seem like an obvious contender for up-and-coming tourist destination of the year. But the relative calm of the green, mountainous northern enclave of Kurdistan is attracting growing numbers of curious European travelers.

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 organize guides and transport because of a lack of infrastructure. But otherwise it's delightful. Mostly security is fine in Kurdistan," he said.

Terre Entière, the French firm seeking a share in the market, hailed a "renaissance" but said it would limit its holidays to Kurdistan and admitted that Iraq's biggest archaeological and historical sites remained out of bounds in the south.

Iraqi Kurdistan, about the size of Switzerland and home to nearly 3.8 million people, is heavily promoting investment and tourism, branding itself "The Other Iraq". The Kurdish government's website boasts that no foreigner has been killed or kidnapped in its territory since 2003, although a suicide attack on a Kurdish party office that left 109 people dead in 2004 has prompted caution among would-be tour operators.

The biggest recent influx of tourists has been that of Iraqis heading to the rather more tranquil northern region for a break from violence of the south. This summer, more than 23,000 Iraqis headed north, up from 3,700 last year.