Tourism paralysis in the shadow of the virus of Corona

     Tourism is considered the most important social and economic phenomenon in today’s world and is at the forefront of the economies of many countries of the world, whether developed or developing countries due to the huge returns and financial returns that accrue to the host country and provide support for the livelihoods of millions of people in the world, but this important sector has become one of the most prominent Sectors were affected by the outbreak of the COVID 19 pandemic, as its effects extended to both supply and demand, and accordingly, this global pandemic has greatly affected the institutions of the tourism sector and has been paralyzed, and those who follow events find it difficult to predict and assess the full impact of the pandemic on international tourism. After a preliminary evaluation, the World Tourism Organization takes the SARS scenario for the year 2003 as a criterion for calculating what will lead to things, taking into account the amount of the current disturbances and the size of the potential economic impact as well as the geographical spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, as the World Tourism Organization estimates a low average number Worldwide tourists in 2020 by 20-30% instead of 3% to 4% growth in the number of international tourists as expected in early January of the same year.

    Iraq was not far from these events and its repercussions that swept most of the countries of the world and that cast a shadow on the tourism sector in the country. Since the beginning of the demonstrations that spread over the cities of Iraq in October of last year, they were followed by the sanctions imposed by America on Iran. These events led to a decrease in the numbers of tourists to Iraq Especially religious tourism, where it is not hidden to anyone that most of the tourists come from the Islamic Republic of Iran, who represent 85% of the total foreign tourists in addition to tourists from the Arab Gulf countries, heading to religious shrines in Najaf and Karbala and the holy Kazemin in Baghdad, but the emergence of the situation The first C of the epidemic of COVID-19 has dealt the last blow to this sector, as the borders were completely closed with neighboring countries, flights stopped between Iraq and the rest of the countries, tourism and travel companies were closed throughout the country and a comprehensive presence for roaming was declared as a precautionary measure to prevent the spread of the virus, which led to the stopping of tourism in a way Kamel in the country, and these events were followed by a significant decrease in the value of crude oil prices globally, which negatively affected the economic situation of the country, bearing in mind that our country is a rentier dependent primarily on oil.

     It is premature at the present time to prepare estimates for the countries of the world and Iraq due to the rapid developments the world is going through and despite the shocks witnessed by international tourism, whether it was in 2003 due to the SARS or during the Iraq war or due to the global economic and financial crisis 2008-2009, but the tourism sector quickly What returned to the great recovery in the years that followed these events, which indicates the strength and flexibility of the tourism sector.