Construction

Iraq requires 500 quality hotels

Religious tourism driving demand for quality hotels

Iraq “urgently requires” at least 500 hotels to meet the growing demands of religious tourism, with investment bodies in the country saying Karbala and Najaf urgently require investment, despite a number of projects already underway.

“Religious tourism in Iraq is on a growth trajectory,” said chairman of the Iraqi National Businessmen Council, Ibrahim Al Baghdadi.

“There are absolutely no hotels in Karbala and Najaf which would be graded 3 star or above by international standards. Coupled with the growing number of pilgrims, a number of large scale developments are required to ensure this ‘gap’ is addressed. We require at least 500 hotels based on the current influx of pilgrims to be built in Karbala,” he added.

Al Baghdadi is also a board member of the country’s National Investment Council.

The statement was made at the Investment in Iraq Summit, held in Dubai last week.

Key note speakers at the seminar also included chairman and MD at Dewan Architects and Engineers, Mohammed Al Assam; Mohammed Asaria, vice chairman, Range Hospitality; Kyle Stelma, emerging markets managing director, Dunia Frontier Consultants; Al Tamimi & Company’s Khaled Saqqaf; and William Wakeham, AAIB Insurance Brokers.

According to the panel, last year foreign investment in Iraq increased 48.7% equating to US$ 42.668 billion in investments, service contracts and other commercial activities.

“More than 33% of total investment and foreign commercial activity in Iraq is attributed to real estate sector,” said Kyle Stelma, emerging markets managing director, Dunia Frontier Consultants.

Stelma also said Iraq has some of the “most favourable” foreign investment laws in the region, making it one of the most lucrative markets.

“There has been a sizeable increase in foreign investment in Karbala and Najaf over the last year. In 2010, foreign firms and investors reported US$ 42.668 billion in investments, service contracts and other commercial activities across Iraq — an estimated 48.7 percent increase in total deal value over the previous year.”

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