Religious Tourism in Iraq: A Promising Economic Resource Requiring Infrastructure Development and Investment

Iraq possesses exceptional fundamentals to transform religious tourism into a sustainable economic resource, contributing to the diversification of income sources and reducing reliance on oil. Despite holy shrines attracting millions of visitors annually, economic returns remain below expectations due to a lack of investment vision and weak infrastructure, such as transportation and accommodation. Tourism experts emphasize that maximizing revenues requires scientific management and treating million-strong pilgrimages as national development projects, alongside developing visa systems, adopting electronic services, and utilizing digital technologies and artificial intelligence for promotion. Academics and economic researchers also highlight Iraq's crowd management capabilities, stressing the need to stimulate investment in tourist facilities and encourage visitors to explore heritage sites and local markets to prolong their stay and increase their spending, thereby creating new job opportunities and revitalizing the local economy.