On February 16, Visit Kurdistan gathered senior government officials, international diplomats, and private sector leaders at the newly inaugurated YouthHub for the Kurdistan Tourism Council (KTC) Workshop on the national goal of welcoming 20 million annual visitors by 2035.

The workshop opened with remarks from Daban Hamid, CEO of Visit Kurdistan, who stressed that the 2035 target can only be achieved through genuine coordination between public institutions and the private sector.

“The path to 20 million visitors is not just about numbers,” he said. “It is about building a unified ecosystem. The KTC will help us identify structural gaps and push for the policy changes needed to turn our potential into reality.”

Following the opening, a panel discussion featured Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Minister of Municipalities and Tourism Sasan Awni, Kurdistan Board of Investment Chairman Mohammed Shukri, and KRG Department of Foreign Relations Head Safeen Dizayee. Moderated by Bilal Barzanji, Head of Strategy at Visit Kurdistan, the panelists spoke openly about the need to diversify the Kurdistan Region’s economy and position tourism as a sustainable alternative to traditional sectors.

They also addressed broader structural challenges, including the dismissed constitutional rights of Kurdistan Region and the necessity of stronger financial cooperation with the federal government in Baghdad.

Read More: Kurdistan Signs $160m Agreement to Develop Tourism

In February 2025, Visit Kurdistan signed a $160 million agreement with Leitner, an Italian leader in ropeway systems, to build a 10-kilometer cable car that will significantly further the region’s developing tourism industry and help to attract 20 million travelers to Kurdistan by 2035.

Last year, Halmat Kestai, spokesperson for Visit Kurdistan, told Kurdistan Chronicle that “the Kurdistan Region is where untouched mountain landscapes meet ancient archaeological sites, and where communities of different ethnicities and religions have lived together for generations.

“This makes Kurdistan not only an emerging destination, but also a deeply meaningful one for travelers looking for authenticity, adventure, and connection.”