[Rudaw] Despite the removal of visa fees between both neighboring countries, the number of Iranian religious tourists to Iraq's southern holy cities has plummeted, concerning local vendors."Some 70-80 percent of tourists came from the neighboring Iran. However,
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due to the financial conditions in Iran and sanctions, the arrival of Iranian tourists to Najaf and Karbala has dramatically dropped, Khuzair Jabouri, the head of Najaf Provincial Council told Rudaw in late May.
Najaf, Karbala and Kufa are three holy cities in Iraq whose shrines and holy sites are visited by millions of Shiite every year.
Tourism is Iraq’s second largest source of income after oil exports.
Iran’s economy has been harmed by US sanctions on oil, energy, and trade under the administration of Donald Trump
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Iran has increased efforts to keep its economic relations with Iraq. Several Iranian officials have visited Iraq recently, including President Hassan Rouhani.
Both governments have removed visa fees and Iran no longer stamps passports when entering from Iran, instead they stamp a slip of paper.
However,
there's no worse danger than telling a mother her baby is ugly...
efforts by Baghdad and Tehran have not yet helped the businesspeople in Iraq's holy cities who fear bankruptcy.
There are more than a thousand hotels in both Najaf and Karbala. They have halved prices due to the guest shortage, but to no avail.
According to Iraqi statistics, 4 million tourists visited Najaf and Karbala through Najaf International Airport in 2018, but that has dropped by 60 percent in the first five months of 2019.