A holiday in Iraq or the Congo? The unlikely tourism hot spots of the future

Iraq, Myanmar and the Republic of Congo rank among the fastest-growing holiday destinations in the world, according to new research published by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC).

The results are based on the tourism performance of 185 countries over the last seven years, taking into account the total contribution of travel and tourism towards GDP, foreign visitor spending, domestic visitor spending, and travel and tourism capital investment.

While China, the USA, Mexico and the United Kingdom dominate the list in terms of absolute growth, the list of countries whose tourism industries have grown by the largest percentage is more surprising, featuring a selection of destinations that rarely feature in your average ‘bucket list’.

From post-conflict zones like Iraq and Rwanda to countries which have opened up to international tourists in recent years, like Myanmar, we take a look into some of the countries that appear to be on track to becoming popular tourist destinations of the future.

Iraq

Iraq has long been off-limits to ordinary holidaymakers, but a handful of tour operators do run trips there. One of these is Hinterland Travel, whose owner Geoff Hann told Telegraph Travel last year: “If British travellers visit just one place in the Middle East, it should be Iraq. It’s in the news all the time, but nobody really knows what it’s like.”

Amongst the places that Hann recommends are the National Museum of Iraq in Baghdad, Samarra’s 9th-century mosque, the ancient city of Ctesiphon and the wildlife-abundant marshlands around Uruk and Ur.

What does the FCO say?

The foreign office advises against all travel in a number of provinces, and advises against all but essential travel to the rest of the country including the rest of the Kurdistan region. There are threats of kidnapping, terrorist attacks, airstrikes, and the potential collapse of the Mosul Dam. See here for the full advice.

Myanmar (or Burma)

Myanmar has faced condemnation over its ongoing persecution of the Rohingya people, with the United Nations branding it a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing”. However, despite suggestions that travellers should consider boycotting the country, the crisis doesn’t appear to be having much of a negative impact on the country’s tourism industry.

The country welcomed 3.44 million visitors in 2017, its tourism ministry announced earlier this year, up from 2.9 million in 2016 - an 18 per cent rise. That’s still down from the record 4.68m that visited in 2015, but proves that demand for trips to the temple-filled Bagan, the floating gardens of Inle Lake, and the Irrawaddy river, has not diminished.

In its report, WTTC said: “Myanmar comfortably leads the pack, driven by the top rankings in total Travel & Tourism GDP growth and visitor exports but also capital investment, where it placed second. Myanmar’s remarkably strong growth came in the immediate years following a change in the government’s regime and opening-up of its borders to international tourists in late 2010.”

What does the FCO say?

The map of Myanmar does not have any red zones (advice against all travel) on the FCO summary, but they do advise against all but essential travel to a number of states and towns. The FCO warns that political tension and unrest could happen at short notice, and advises to take particular care in the border area with Thailand, Laos and China. See here for the full advice.

Georgia

Georgia has become a lot easier to access in recent years, with direct Wizz Air flights to Kutaisi (a five-hour journey) costing as little as ￡25 one way.

Sat at the crossroads between Asia and Europe, Georgia packs a lot in: from snowy mountains to sandy shores, with rolling vineyards, ancient cities and Unesco-listed monasteries in between. This year marked the 100th anniversary of independence from what was then the Russian Empire. In a recent article for Telegraph Travel, Juliet Rix made the case that Georgia could be the new Puglia.

What does the FCO say?

The FCO advises against all travel to the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abhkazia and warns against all but essential travel to their administrative boundary lines - there is no UK diplomatic representation in either location. The rest of Georgia is green, and the FCO says “the political situation in Georgia is generally calm”. See here for the full advice.

Rwanda

Today Rwanda has moved on from its darkest period, the genocide of 1994, when up to one million members of Rwanda’s Tutsi population were massacred by the Hutu government, a consequence of the country’s civil war. The capital city of Kigali hosts a Genocide Memorial Centre, the final resting place for the remains of 25,000 victims.

Rwanda’s tourism industry continues to grow, contributing to 12.7 per cent of the country’s GDP and supporting 132,000 jobs. Visit Rwanda did, however, come under fire after spending a reported ￡30 million on a brand sponsorship deal with Arsenal earlier this year. The central African country is best-known for its 480-strong mountain gorilla population, for which people travel from all over the world to see, paying ￡1,300 for a permit to enter the Volcanoes National Park with a guide to track down the majestic, roaming animals.

In the report, the WTTC said: “Rwanda, which has had 12 per cent growth over each of the seven years, has prioritised the sustainable growth of tourism, with real and tangible impacts both in terms of community development and conservation. The creation of public, private and community partnerships has been particularly instrumental in the restoration and expansion of parks and in supporting local communities’ livelihoods through tourism projects.”

What does the FCO say?

The FCO describes Rwanda as “generally safe and crime levels are relatively low, but street crime does occur”. It warns to check travel advice for DRC and Burundi if travelling near those border areas. See here for the full travel advice.

Republic of Congo

Describing the Republic of Congo, Telegraph Travel’s Lisa Grainger said: “There are countries you have to visit in spite of the difficulties of doing so. The Republic of Congo is one of them. You go not to visit its capital, Brazzaville - a hilly, muddy mass of traffic, mud and cheerily painted shacks - or to stay in one of its grim city hotels, with their unlockable doors and clientele of thick-necked men in camouflage.”

“You fly, via France or Johannesburg, then on in a small plane into the jungle, because the country has one of the biggest populations of western lowland gorillas in the world, as David Attenborough points out in his illuminating BBC series on Africa, and given the rate at which they are being killed if you don’t see them soon, you might never see them at all.”

What does the FCO say?

The FCO advises against all travel to certain areas in the northern and southern parts of the country, and all but essential travel to Brazzaville region (with the exception of the city of Brazzaville) and the Ngabe district of Pool region. Note there is no British Embassy in the Republic of Congo. See here for the full advice.

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