Tourism is a hard sell in lawless Iraq..(From the DUH file???)

[SoCalDem]

http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsPackageArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=561375§ion=news


Tourism is a hard sell in lawless Iraq
Mon 9 August, 2004 06:10



By Dean Yates

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Budding British travel operator Don Lucey has a novel idea for a holiday -- visit Iraq.

Undeterred by kidnappings of foreigners, a raging insurgency and general lawlessness that probably makes Iraq the most dangerous place in the world, Lucey is planning a genteel tour for around 10 people at the end of September.

He is even bringing his 16-year-old daughter along.

"I'm adamant this trip will go ahead. It seems a forbidden place to visit, people are interested in that," said Lucey, a former soldier and policeman who worked in Iraq in 2003 and set up Bann Tours in Swindon the same year.

"It has a lot to offer, a lot of history. It's not just all war and people killing each other. Obviously terrorists scare a lot of people, but people like myself want to prove that they are not in control," he said in a telephone interview.

Iraq was never popular for tourists under Saddam Hussein, but it did draw people to sites of ancient civilisations such as Babylon and Ur, the Shia Muslim holy cities of Najaf and Kerbala, and its beautiful lakes, mountains and deserts.

snip........

[soupkitchen]

1. I'll beheading there soon

[robpopulace]

3. I expect to see my kid napping by the end of the tour. nt

[hatrack]

9. As long as it doesn't cost and arm and a leg . . .

Buh-da-BOOM!!

[jimshoes]

2. Wonder how many thrill seekers

at f/r are lining up to take this little Iraq adventure? I expect we'll be seeing a spate of new beheading video's if Mr. Lucey goes through with his plans though.

[KharmaTrain]

4. Don't Laugh...They're Going

There was a report on the local news recently of a couple of "thrill-seekers" who spent their "Summer Vacation" in Baghdad and Mosul. Not sure if these people were freepers or just nuts, but they said it was a great time, being part of history, things are changing (and how would they know???) and then spewed some "bless *" crap.

I dunno...if I were a journalist (ala Hunter Thompson) or historian, I'd be curious to go over there and see for myself, but this surely isn't on the top of my "must see" list with Paris, London & Rome...but then it wasn't prior to the invasion, either.

[SoCalDem]

5. Maybe they will post their pictures so we'll know what's going on

It seems as though most of the "news" people have moved on :(

[Jacobin]

6. So now its Extreme Vacations?

Maybe they could do a Survivor type show in connection with the tours.

[SoCalDem]

7. Ooooh.. call Faux ..They'll get right on it..

Maybe they could get Anna Nicole to host it:)

[gatorboy]

8. I love the fact that Iraq actually has a Tourism Board! Heh! n/t

[Jacobin]

10. A "Re-Arranging the Deckchairs on the Titanic" moment

if I ever heard one.