Tourism in Mesopotamia

The Diwaniyah Small Business Development Center (SBDC), in collaboration with the Najaf SBDC and the Najaf Tourism Development Center, organized a five-day training program on tourism from December 27-31, 2010. The program was aimed at promoting tourism as an economic sector as well as addressing operational issues in running tourism-related businesses. It attracted participants from Diwaniyah’s provincial government, Chamber of Commerce, area hotels and other businesses. This potentially very lucrative sector has underperformed due to the lack of promotion and the need to improve service quality and infrastructure. The agenda and action plan for this program included promoting the province via media, training individuals in surveying and maintaining archaeological sites, and establishing hospitality enterprises with staff trained to international customer service standards.

Diwaniyah Province (also known as Qadissiyah) is home to around 300 archaeological ruins including the 4,000 year old metropolis Nippur, among other historical and religious attractions. The province’s vast agricultural areas, wetlands, arid zones and semi-desert areas also support a varied population of birds including Avocets, Stilts, Sandpiper, allies, gulls, terns, shrikes and grebes. The Diwaniyah SBDC, part of USAID-Tijara’s SBDC Network, is taking the lead in promoting economic growth in one of Iraq’s least developed provinces. The SBDC is championing manpower intensive sectors like tourism and some manufacturing to diversify the agricultural-based economy and promote employment for youth.

This tourism program was financially supported by the Diwaniyah Provincial Reconstruction Team. Najaf’s SBDC provided technical assistance as a facilitator, linking the Diwaniyah SBDC and Najaf Tourism Development Center to a common goal. The Najaf Tourism Development Center, part of the Najaf Chamber of Commerce, provided an industry qualified Iraqi trainer. As a result of this program, the SBDCs now have a pool of experts who can deliver follow on trainings which will address the operational issues of the tourism and hospitality sector stakeholders. Another equally important benefit was the development of a pool of stakeholders who understand the concepts and the techniques of promoting Tourism as a sector and who are motivated to see this sector grow

This initiative is also an example of different USAID funded programs coming together to address critical needs in the economic development of a province.

The objective of the training was twofold:

1. Create an understanding at the grassroots level about initiatives needed to create a vibrant tourism sector.
2. Build capacity among tourism sector stakeholders to deliver a better quality experience for visitors.

Agreed upon next steps resulting from this program include utilizing the Internet to promote Diwaniyah’s rich archaeological heritage as well as other historical sites, and to promote e-commerce. One initiative is to create a series of small movies recording the attractions of the Diwaniyah Province. The shorts will be distributed via Internet, especially Youtube.

The SBDC also gained the ability to deliver future training programs addressing operational issues for the hospitality sector enterprises. The major issues addressed included best practices for greeting & registering new arrivals, housekeeping and hygiene & safety in hotels.

The Diwaniyah SBDC is a collaborative effort between the Diwaniyah Chamber of Commerce and the Diwaniyah PRT. Technical assistance for the SBDC is provided by the USAID-Tijara Provincial Economic Growth Program.