More Tourists from Kurdistan Region Choose to Travel Now, Pa

[Aslan]

SULAIMANI, Kurdistan Region – More tourists from Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan Region are able to fulfill their dreams of traveling abroad, thanks to travel agencies that accept payment for the trip in installments.

Karwan Muhammed, who works for a cell phone company and earns a monthly salary of $1,200, spent the New Year holiday in Lebanon, and is paying for the trip in monthly installments.

His visit was arranged by one of several travel agencies in the city of Sulaimani that accept monthly payments.

Paiman Rashed, a teacher who makes 1.3 million Iraqi dinars ($1,100) a month, said she took her three kids to Lebanon, spending $5,000 which she is returning in monthly payments.

Payment plans began to gain popularity in the Kurdistan Region after 2005, first for home goods, then for cars and later for travel.

The travel agencies themselves levy an extra cost of $50 per traveler, and banks that finance the trip charge an extra $250 for the loan, which is paid back over a year.