DUHOK, Kurdistan Region — Tourists visiting Duhok’s Mount Gara are not spending long periods of time in the area, due to a lack of restaurants, hotels, and other local businesses.

Nearly 25,000 tourists from Iraq’s central and southern provinces have visited Duhok this January, according to Duhok’s tourism directorate.

Many come to Mount Gara, located 40 kilometres northeast of the provincial capital, to see snow. However, when finished with their time outdoors, they have been struggling to find a nearby place to relax and enjoy their downtime.

“We have come here, but there is no restaurant or cafeteria. If we need something, we can’t find it here. We have to go to Duhok to buy it and return,” Amir Abadi, a tourist from Baghdad, told Rudaw on Friday.

Jinan Younis, another tourist from Baghdad, thinks the government should be encouraging the opening of businesses to stimulate the tourism sector.

“They should open up cafeterias, restaurants and places to relax. It has been some time that we haven’t found a place to sit in,” said Younis.

A tourism site was planned for Mount Gara six years ago. However, there have been significant delays due to financial problems.

“The entrepreneur is taking the official and legal measures to get land. God willing, he will finish the measures and start building the project on Mount Gara,” Rebwar Mohammed, director of Duhok’s tourism directorate. “The project includes a cable car, restaurants and hotels for tourists.”

Nearly 500,000 people visited Duhok province in 2019, according to data from the directorate.

The province’s tourism directorate had hoped to increase this number by 25-30% in 2020. However, due to the coronavirus outbreak, only around 160,000 tourists visited Duhok last year.