War leaves Kurdistan tourism in tatters

Jihadist offensive, which plunged Iraq into chaos, halted ambitious plans in the capital

Billboards still read "Welcome to Arbil, 2014 Arab Tourism Capital", but most of the visitors welcomed by Iraq's Kurdistan region last year were people made homeless by a jihadist offensive.

It was supposed to be tourism's takeoff year, but the Islamic State group's June onslaught dashed those hopes overnight when it plunged Iraq into chaos.