ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Around 90,000 people visited Erbil during the four days of the Eid al-Adha, with the total number of tourists across the Kurdistan Region expected to reach more than 300,000.

“During the days of Eid, the number of tourists who have visited Erbil is 89,301 tourists,” read a statement by the Erbil governor’s office on Monday, adding that the Kurdistan Region capital’s tourism plan was successfully completed.

Ibrahim Abdulmajid, spokesperson for the Kurdistan Region’s tourism board, told The New Region on Monday that, before Eid, they projected around 300,000 tourists would visit the Region to mark the Islamic holiday, but noted that the actual figure will now be “much higher.”

The Kurdistan Region offers over 2,500 resorts and tourist attraction sites. The Region’s beautiful nature and moderate temperatures during the summertime and cozy, snow-capped wintery retreats during the colder seasons have become major attractions for tourists from all over Iraq and further afield.

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has put a lot of emphasis on the tourism sector in recent years, and aims to attract 20 million tourists per year by 2030.

In May, Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani personally opened the third Middle East Tourism Exhibition (METEX) in Erbil, a major event aiming to promote tourism in the Region and attract investment in the sector, held with the participation of at least 120 tourism companies from across 20 countries.