Corruption and indulgence with the Iranians behind the decline of religious tourism revenues in Iraq

Corruption and indulgence with the Iranians behind the decline of religious tourism revenues in Iraq

Nov 07, 2016



Baghdad «Quds Al-Arabi»: Tourism Authority of the Ministry of Culture held a second Reshetha, to discuss maximizing the resources and authority to address some of the constraints faced in the field of religious tourism, despite the growing number of foreign visitors coming to Karbala and other cities.

A statement by the Ministry of Culture that the workshop was attended by senior ministry officials, including Undersecretary of the Ministry of Culture Taher Nasser Hamoud and the Inspector General of the Ministry of Culture Hamid Ali Kazem, director general of administrative and finance department Raad Allawi.

The head of the Tourism Authority of Mahmoud Abdul-Jabbar al-Zubaidi, according to the statement, said that the workshop was held to find out the failures and obstacles and ways to address them in the work of inspection and follow-up circuit and revenue collection in the provinces of Iraq to see profit and loss.

The director of media relations and in the Commission Mohammad Hassan high, that the aim of the workshop in order to expand the authority and resources to address some of the obstacles they face, hoping to hold the next workshop at the end of December / October.

He expected high increase body resources during the forty-day visit to the Imam Hussein, peace be upon him, which coincides with the 21 of the month of November the current, and the entry of large numbers of visitors to religious shrines of Najaf and Karbala from around the world expected to revenues up during this visit, to about $ 30 million .

He's source »Quds Al-Arabi» in the Iraqi Tourism Board, said that the workshop was held to discuss ways to increase imports from religious tourism, which did not match the number of foreign visitors who remember it beyond the official sources of millions, especially from the Iranians.

The source, who requested anonymity, noted that the expectations of some officials in the workshop to be imports of visiting foreigners during Arbainet Hussein $ 30 million, are much less than imports imposed obtained, where identified State Department $ 40 per visitor foreigner for Visa Fees entry into Iraq, and enters Iraq more than three million visitors a year, except for expenses that Barvunha while they were in Iraq in hotels, restaurants and others.

The source confirmed that a lot of the financial revenues for religious visits wasted because of administrative corruption and mismanagement, in addition to the indulgence of some official agencies in border crossings to control crowds of visitors coming to Iraq, particularly from Iran, where he repeated over the past years, the flow of hundreds of thousands of Iranian visitors through the gates of the border areas by smashing gates and on to Iraq without pointing their passports, Iraqi authorities did not take any action against them.

The ministry of Interior, indicated during a visit Arbain 2015 that «the crowds flow way undisciplined was« deliberately »to pressure the border crossing to open the border illegally and under the pretext of the Iranian side control of the entrants to the Iranian border officials», pointing out that «the agreement was It states that the Iranian side is to prevent the entry of individuals who obtained visas from approaching the border crossing. »

The ministry «Iranian side responsible and charged because he did not have his or her duties and commitments in a responsible manner prevents the breakdown of the situation on the border in the port», stressing that Iraqi border guards and in order to bloodshed and to provide an opportunity for both sides to control both sides of the border, has refrained from using force despite the fact that Iraq has the right to use all means to protect its borders and its security and verification of the identities of entrants. »

It is reported that a source in the Iraqi Ministry of Finance, announced that the finance charges resulting from the granting of visas to foreign visitors to Iraq, amounting to $ 40 is one of the most important financial alternative sources for lower oil prices.

In turn, he called on the member of the Finance Committee in Parliament MP Hussam punitive levy to file income for the advancement of the country's economy and overcome the financial crisis. He said the punitive during a press conference that the (supposed to collect 12 trillion dinars non-oil revenues of the state, however, that until now have been collected 2 to 3 trillion only, despite the approaching end of the year), adding that (there are a lot of revenue, not collected from companies, institutions and it must activating this file for the advancement of the country's economy and overcome the financial crisis).

According to Iraqi government statistics that millions of foreign visitors, especially Iranians flocking to religious areas in Iraqi cities a year, at a time when the observers say that the imports resulting from these visits could fill a large part of the deficit in the government budget, if properly tuned and management, which does not get Actually.

LINK