Tommy Driskill - American YouTuber just had a special 12-day trip to Baghdad, Iraq. Driskill told CNN Travel that for more than a decade he had heard news about the war in Iraq on television, but the warnings about travel restrictions in this country aroused his curiosity.
Despite escalating tensions across the Middle East, not only Driskill but many Western tourists continue to visit Iraq, through tour operators, CNN Travel said.
Although the security situation remains a concern, the attraction of Iraq's ancient cultural heritage is like a strange magnet, attracting many tourists.
Babylon, the legendary city with thousands of fairy tales, still has traces of a brilliant civilization. Visitors will admire the massive walls, the majestic gates and imagine the life of the ancient Babylonians when standing in front of the famous hanging gardens, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.
Besides Babylon, Iraq also possesses countless other precious cultural heritages such as the ancient city of Nineveh, the tombs of Assyrian kings, or archaeological sites with thousands of ancient artifacts. Each location has its own beauty, telling different stories about a brilliant civilization that once existed.
International travel companies say they are seeing a sharp increase in demand for trips to Iraq.
Faced with the above situation, many governments have advised their citizens not to travel to Iraq for security reasons. According to Times Travel, the US State Department has classified Iraq as a level 4 country - a country that is not recommended for tourism, with warnings about threats of terrorism, kidnapping, armed conflict and civil unrest.
Not only foreign travel companies, many Iraqis are also actively setting up companies to restore cultural tourism to heritage sites.
The UK's Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) also advises against travel to Iraq, with the exception of the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region in the north - which has a distinct Kurdish culture and language and has operated largely independently of Baghdad since 2005. For Kurdistan, the FCO advises against all but essential travel.
In 2021, when the Iraqi Government started issuing visas on arrival at Baghdad International Airport to 30 nationalities, including US, UK and EU citizens, tourism began to pick up.
International tour operators say they are seeing a surge in demand for Iraq. “The trend of going to places like Baghdad, Babylon, Mosul in Iraq is doubling every year. Two years ago we did one trip, last year we did two, and this year we have four,” Robert Kyle Molina, tour director of Lupine Travel, which specializes in lesser-known destinations, told CNN.
