Passport

British, American tourists head to Iraq

As my recent FP web-exclusive predicted, Iraq has followed in the steps of Colombia in becoming a bona fide tourist destination. The first Iraqi-sanctioned tourist excursion to the country just concluded this Sunday — filled with U.S. and British tourists, including a 77-year-old pensioner. The trip has been going smoothly, though with a few adventures, ...

By
587540_090323_tourist2.jpg
US tourist David Chung (R) takes pictures for his fellow compatriot Joel Rawlins (R) under the Iraqi Arch of Triumph at Baghdad's al-Ihtifalat square in the Iraqi capital's heavily fortified Green Zone area on March 21, 2009. The first Western firm to bring a group of foreign tourists to Iraq since the 2003 US-led invasion said on March 20, 2009 it will be back with more sightseers, despite having security difficulties on the trip. Security has improved dramatically since early 2008, although suicide attacks and bombings remain a daily occurrence. AFP PHOTO/ALI YUSSEF (Photo credit should read ALI YUSSEF/AFP/Getty Images)

As my recent FP web-exclusive predicted, Iraq has followed in the steps of Colombia in becoming a bona fide tourist destination.

The first Iraqi-sanctioned tourist excursion to the country just concluded this Sunday -- filled with U.S. and British tourists, including a 77-year-old pensioner. The trip has been going smoothly, though with a few adventures, so to speak. "We've had security problems everywhere but we expected some of these,"  the managing director of the travel agency, Geoff Hann, told the AFP.

As my recent FP web-exclusive predicted, Iraq has followed in the steps of Colombia in becoming a bona fide tourist destination.

The first Iraqi-sanctioned tourist excursion to the country just concluded this Sunday — filled with U.S. and British tourists, including a 77-year-old pensioner. The trip has been going smoothly, though with a few adventures, so to speak. “We’ve had security problems everywhere but we expected some of these,”  the managing director of the travel agency, Geoff Hann, told the AFP.

For now, it’s still a gamble. “My friends certainly think I’m a bit mad,”  one British tourist told the BBC. But I’m betting there are many others with precisely her style of mania who will be signing up Iraq tours soon. 

ALI YUSSEF/AFP/Getty Images

Elizabeth Dickinson is a Gulf-based member of the journalism collective Deca.
Tag: Iraq

Trending

  1. 1
    China’s Sham Meritocracy Has Created a Burned-Out Generation
  2. 2
    The Spy Who Could Have Saved Syria
  3. 3
    Winter Is Coming, and It’s Only a Preview
  4. 4
    A Dangerous Decade of Chinese Power Is Here
  5. 5
    Why South Korea’s Liberals Are Defense Hawks
Latest Analysis

China’s Sham Meritocracy Has Created a Burned-Out Generation

Does the ICC Obstruct Peace?

Why South Korea’s Liberals Are Defense Hawks

More from Foreign Policy

The Taliban delegation leaves the hotel after meeting with representatives of Russia, China, the United States, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Qatar in Moscow on March 19.

China and the Taliban Begin Their Romance

Beijing has its eyes set on using Afghanistan as a strategic corridor once U.S. troops are out of the way.

An Afghan security member pours gasoline over a pile of seized drugs and alcoholic drinks

The Taliban Are Breaking Bad

Meth is even more profitable than heroin—and is turbocharging the insurgency.

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya addresses the U.N. Security Council from her office in Vilnius, Lithuania, on Sept. 4, 2020.

Belarus’s Unlikely New Leader

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya didn’t set out to challenge a brutal dictatorship.

Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid

What the Taliban Takeover Means for India

Kabul’s swift collapse leaves New Delhi with significant security concerns.

Trending

  1. China’s Sham Meritocracy Has Created a Burned-Out Generation
    Argument |

  2. The Spy Who Could Have Saved Syria
    Review |

  3. Winter Is Coming, and It’s Only a Preview
    Report |

  4. A Dangerous Decade of Chinese Power Is Here
    Argument |
    ,

  5. Why South Korea’s Liberals Are Defense Hawks
    Argument |
Latest

Germany’s Love Affair With Crime Fiction

The Spy Who Could Have Saved Syria

‘The Loneliest Americans’ Asks What Being Asian American Really Means

China’s Sham Meritocracy Has Created a Burned-Out Generation

Jennifer Klein on the U.S.’s ‘First Ever’ National Gender Strategy
See All Stories