Travel And Tour World: Please introduce yourself and Iraq Tourism Board to our readers.

Hasan Al-Saegh: My name is Hasan Al-Saegh and I am the Marketing Manager for the Iraq Tourism Board. The World Travel Market London 2023 is a very famous and effective event for us, and we really worked so hard to participate this year as we have already participated in this event before the COVID-19 pandemic, and now we are starting again It is wonderful to be here with you.

Travel And Tour World: How are you finding the World Travel Market London 2023 so far?

Hasan Al-Saegh: We are so pleased to be here, we are working so much, we came with the 50 participants from Iraq, travel agents, and our main goals to promote the market for Iraq and Iraqi products, tourism, and to show people that the country of Iraq is still alive, and hopefully it will encourage them to come over to Iraq.  I’m sure they will enjoy it!

Travel And Tour World: What are the marketing strategies the Iraq Tourism Board has taken to attract tourists?

Hasan Al-Saegh:  I mean we are sure that Iraq doesn’t need any marketing because everybody knows about Iraq and its history. The country of Iraq is famous by Babylon and the birthday of Prophet Ibrahim. Pope Francis came here in 2021. We have all kinds of tourism and things to see and explore. We have holy shrines dedicated to Prophets such as the cousins of Prophet Muhammed. Tourists come to see and visit Iraq every year by the millions. So we are here to just encourage people to come to Iraq and show them that Iraq is stable, and it is able to be enjoyed !

Travel And Tour World: What are the areas and regions you would specifically like to promote in Iraq that you believe would be of a higher interest to travellers?

Hasan Al-Saegh: I believe that every piece of Iraq is enjoyable for tourists. Baghdad is the capital city, and it is an ancient city. Where mathematics started for example. Aside from the religious places we also have archaeological sites, historical places, places where you can enjoy nature such as the river in northern Iraq.

Travel And Tour World: What are some sustainable methods the Iraq Tourism Board has taken to promote Iraq?

Hasan Al-Saegh: Sustainability is good. It’s a goal of ours that we are working towards by communicating with investors. We would like investors from all sorts of countries to come and invest in Iraq for sustainability. Our stand is also here on the purpose of marketing for Iraq.