Shkoi Kurdistan-
An increasing number of Kurdish holidaymakers are again travelling to neighbouring Turkey after the number of visitors dropped in the past few years mainly due to visa restrictions and harsh economic times on both sides of the border.
However, due to the influx of tourists wanting to cross to Turkey via the Ibrahim Khalil crossing, the holidaymakers are faced with long queues of vehicles, meaning they have to wait for at least 24 hours to get into the neighbouring country.
Over the past few days, more than 10,000 holidaymakers have crossed into Turkey via Ibrahim Khalil, according to Kami Kamal, head of public relations and media of the crossing.
Kamil said that it is not true that the main cause of the traffic jam is lack of sufficient employees at Ibrahim Khalil crossing, adding that even if they increase the number of employees the issue will remain as long as Turkey does not increase the number of its employees in the other side of the border as well.
“For example, if on a normal day 10 employees carry out their work and on such busy days we increase the number of employees to 20, the Turkish side should do the very same thing. This issue of traffic at the border is not resolved unilaterally, but both sides should follow the very same procedures.”
According to tourist companies in Zakho near the Turkish border, travel to Turkey during Eid al-Adha has increased, an upward trend that has also affected the price of tickets and visa applications.
The four-day Eid al-Adha begins on Saturday in most of Sunni countries, including the Kurdistan Region and Turkey.
According to the Ministry of Municipalities and Tourism of the KRG, the rising number of vacationers is partly due to the modest economic recovery in the Kurdistan Region.
