The Abu Dhabi-headquartered Cristal Group wants to expand beyond Baghdad to Erbil, Karbala, Basra and Suleimanya in the next two years to tap a growing hospitality market.
And several international hotel chains, including Marriott, Hilton and InterContinental Hotels, are making a beeline for Iraq.
Most are targeting the stable and oil-rich Kurdistan region with a raft of openings slated over the next two years. The region's tourism general board has allocated 30 billion Iraqi dinars (Dh950.9 million) to implement 47 projects this year, say media reports.
Iraq received 260,000 tourists last year, up from 237,000 the previous year. It expects to have 287,000 tourists this year, rising by 30,000 arrivals each year until 2015. The growth would remain focused in the Kurdistan region as indicated by the international chains moving there.
Euromonitor International forecasts religious tourism to grow at about 10 per cent a year until 2015 if the situation remains stable. The top cities for visitors remain Erbil, Baghdad, Mosul, Basra and Najaf.
The Cristal Group is scheduled to open its first Baghdad property, Cristal Grand Ishtar, on May 1 close to the Green Zone where the international presence is still concentrated.
Most of the visitors to the Iraqi capitalare business travellers seeking government contracts aimed at rebuilding the country.
"It is definitely not a [family] destination," said Peter Blackburn, the president and chief executive of the Cristal Group, referring to Baghdad and most of the country outside the Kurdistan region. "Baghdad and Iraq have major plans to improve infrastructure and that is bringing in the business travellers."
Baghdad is also en route to Karbala, which is picking up as a religious tourism destination, along with Najaf. While religious tourism tapered off after the 2003 US-led invasion, "it was also the first to recover thanks to visitors from Bahrain, Kuwait, Syria and Iran mainly", a Euromonitor International report said last year.
And Mr Blackburn expects that trend to strengthen. The Cristal Group predicts 40 per cent occupancy for its first year of operations, with daily room rates in the hotel of between US$190 (Dh697) to $250.
The group has spent $50 million refurbishing an existing hotel property, which it recently purchased. It expects to spend another $4m to open a seafood restaurant, a gym and a spa in the 307-room facility.
Cristal Group has also signed two deals in Erbil. The $13m Cristal Hotel Erbil is set to open in October, while the slightly larger Cristal Grand Erbil should open next year at a cost of $25m.
Cristal expects to open a hotel in Basra within a year, Mr Blackburn said. Facilities in Suleimanya and another in Karbala are also planned.
Dubai's Range Hospitality will start handing over serviced apartments in Karbala in the last quarter of this year.
Hilton is to open its first two hotels in Iraq in Erbil by the end of 2015.
Erbil is directly benefiting from economic growth, particularly in tourism, where the increasing number of international airlines is fuelling business and leisure travel, said Heather Shaw, a spokeswoman for Hilton Worldwide. "Leisure travellers, particularly, are attracted by the relative stability, the temperate climate and the increasing awareness of northern Iraq as an attractive destination," she said.
Despite the optimism and investments, challenges remain.
"The violent security situation, chaotic domestic politics, corruption and frequent dead ends in postwar nation-building attempts have kept Iraq significantly below its potential," said Jean-Michel Saliba, an economist with Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
ssahoo@thenational.ae
'Skin'
Dir: Guy Nattiv
Starring: Jamie Bell, Danielle McDonald, Bill Camp, Vera Farmiga
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
West Asia Premiership
Dubai Hurricanes 58-10 Dubai Knights Eagles
Dubai Tigers 5-39 Bahrain
Jebel Ali Dragons 16-56 Abu Dhabi Harlequins
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Rashid & Rajab
Director: Mohammed Saeed Harib
Stars: Shadi Alfons, Marwan Abdullah, Doaa Mostafa Ragab
Two stars out of five
Day 4, Abu Dhabi Test: At a glance
Moment of the day Not much was expected – on Sunday or ever – of Hasan Ali as a batsman. And yet he lit up the late overs of the Pakistan innings with a happy cameo of 29 from 25 balls. The highlight was when he launched a six right on top of the netting above the Pakistan players’ viewing area. He was out next ball.
Stat of the day – 1,358 There were 1,358 days between Haris Sohail’s previous first-class match and his Test debut for Pakistan. The lack of practice in the multi-day format did not show, though, as the left-hander made an assured half-century to guide his side through a potentially damaging collapse.
The verdict As is the fashion of Test matches in this country, the draw feels like a dead-cert, before a clatter of wickets on the fourth afternoon puts either side on red alert. With Yasir Shah finding prodigious turn now, Pakistan will be confident of bowling Sri Lanka out. Whether they have enough time to do so and chase the runs required remains to be seen.
EU Russia
The EU imports 90 per cent of the natural gas used to generate electricity, heat homes and supply industry, with Russia supplying almost 40 per cent of EU gas and a quarter of its oil.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
You may remember …
Robbie Keane (Atletico de Kolkata) The Irish striker is, along with his former Spurs teammate Dimitar Berbatov, the headline figure in this season’s ISL, having joined defending champions ATK. His grand entrance after arrival from Major League Soccer in the US will be delayed by three games, though, due to a knee injury.
Dimitar Berbatov (Kerala Blasters) Word has it that Rene Meulensteen, the Kerala manager, plans to deploy his Bulgarian star in central midfield. The idea of Berbatov as an all-action, box-to-box midfielder, might jar with Spurs and Manchester United supporters, who more likely recall an always-languid, often-lazy striker.
Wes Brown (Kerala Blasters) Revived his playing career last season to help out at Blackburn Rovers, where he was also a coach. Since then, the 23-cap England centre back, who is now 38, has been reunited with the former Manchester United assistant coach Meulensteen, after signing for Kerala.
Andre Bikey (Jamshedpur) The Cameroonian defender is onto the 17th club of a career has taken him to Spain, Portugal, Russia, the UK, Greece, and now India. He is still only 32, so there is plenty of time to add to that tally, too. Scored goals against Liverpool and Chelsea during his time with Reading in England.
Emiliano Alfaro (Pune City) The Uruguayan striker has played for Liverpool – the Montevideo one, rather than the better-known side in England – and Lazio in Italy. He was prolific for a season at Al Wasl in the Arabian Gulf League in 2012/13. He returned for one season with Fujairah, whom he left to join Pune.
Ramy%3A%20Season%203%2C%20Episode%201
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BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
Friday (all kick-offs UAE time)
Hertha Berlin v Union Berlin (10.30pm)
Saturday
Freiburg v Werder Bremen (5.30pm)
Paderborn v Hoffenheim (5.30pm)
Wolfsburg v Borussia Dortmund (5.30pm)
Borussia Monchengladbach v Bayer Leverkusen (5.30pm)
Bayern Munich v Eintracht Frankfurt (5.30pm)
Sunday
Schalke v Augsburg (3.30pm)
Mainz v RB Leipzig (5.30pm)
Cologne v Fortuna Dusseldorf (8pm)
Januzaj's club record
Manchester United 50 appearances, 5 goals
Borussia Dortmund (loan) 6 appearances, 0 goals
Sunderland (loan) 25 appearances, 0 goals
The specs
Engine: 3-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 400hp
Torque: 475Nm
Transmission: 9-speed automatic
Price: From Dh215,900
On sale: Now
Huddersfield Town permanent signings:
- Steve Mounie (striker): signed from Montpellier for £11 million
- Tom Ince (winger): signed from Derby County for £7.7m
- Aaron Mooy (midfielder): signed from Manchester City for £7.7m
- Laurent Depoitre (striker): signed from Porto for £3.4m
- Scott Malone (defender): signed from Fulham for £3.3m
- Zanka (defender): signed from Copenhagen for £2.3m
- Elias Kachunga (winger): signed for Ingolstadt for £1.1m
- Danny WIlliams (midfielder): signed from Reading on a free transfer
DUBAI WORLD CUP CARNIVAL CARD
6.30pm Handicap US$135,000 (Turf) 2,410m
7.05pm UAE 1000 Guineas Listed $250,000 (Dirt) 1,600m
7.40pm Dubai Dash Listed $175,000 (T) 1,000m
8.15pm Al Bastakiya Trial Conditions $100,000 (D) 1.900m
8.50pm Al Fahidi Fort Group Two $250,000 (T) 1,400m
9.25pm Handicap $135,000 (D) 2,000m
The National selections
6.30pm: Gifts Of Gold
7.05pm Final Song
7.40pm Equilateral
8.15pm Dark Of Night
8.50pm Mythical Magic
9.25pm Franz Kafka
Director: Shady Ali
Cast: Boumi Fouad , Mohamed Tharout and Hisham Ismael
Rating: 3/5
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Rating: 4/5
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sept 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
Sunday's fixtures
- Bournemouth v Southampton, 5.30pm
- Manchester City v West Ham United, 8pm
