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Iraq
Iraqi Tourist bureau slogan 'tourism not terrorism'.
2008-08-01
It is a country that has become synonymous with suicide bombings and sectarian killings, abductions and refugees -- the savage legacy of one of the most emotive and controversial wars of recent times.

Yet the government of Iraq insists all that will soon be in the past and that the cradle of civilisation, the land of Babylon and the Garden of Eden, will become a paradise for foreign tourists.

With the surge in US troop numbers curbing much of the violence in recent months, and the ragged economy buoyed by petrodollars, the Iraqi government maintains that the time has come for a concerted push to attract visitors under the slogan "tourism not terrorism".
Posted by:GolfBravoUSMC

#3  I agree that Iraq has great tourist potential; some people I know who have been there have made those excersions.

I would like to add that Da Nang is unbelievably gorgeous - clear water and beaches made of powdered sugar sand; add a golf course or two and there ya go. It would be a great getaway stop especially for Korea and Japan and as a launching point for a jaunt to Siem Reip/Angkor Wat visit which is also being heavily developed for tourism. There is also a little market area for selling goods. I think Vietnam is trying to turn that whole area into a sort of tourist sector along the lines of Cancun in Mexico.
Posted by: swksvolFF   2008-08-01 11:10  

#2  It's not far-fetched at all, considering all the ancient sites - Sumer, Ninevah, Babylon... if I had enough money (and maybe I will in the next decade if I sell enough of my books!) I'd do a tour of Iraq! It's the cradle of civilization, for pete's sake. They'll be packing tourists in by the bus-load. Imagine some of Saddam Hussein's palaces converted to luxury tourist hotels, imagine skiing holidays in the Kurdish north, and student back-packers doing it all on a few bucks a day. It would be marvelous... and think of the reproach that a happy, peaceful and prosperous Iraq would be to all the 'quagmire-US out now' types.
Posted by: Sgt. Mom   2008-08-01 08:32  

#1  Not so far-fetched. Not like Vietnam, where the only significant attraction is to veterans paying their respects to fallen comrades and their youth. Iraq has the potential to develop its historical/archaeological treasures and scenic north; it is a convenient stopover point to combine with tours of Africa, East Asia or South Asia (especially from Europe); and it could end up with a government and people who actually kind of like Americans.
Posted by: Menhaden S   2008-08-01 07:52  

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