WRAP Foreign tourists visit Iraq for first time since 2003

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• published: 21 Jul 2015
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1. Exterior of Sheraton Hotel Central Baghdad, tilt up 2. Top of the hotel with Arabic sign reading: "Ishtar Sheraton Hotel" 3. Mid of Western tourists sitting at table inside the hotel 4. Various of tourists having breakfast 5. Statue in hotel lobby 6. SOUNDBITE: (English) Geoff Hann, Managing Director of British organisers Hinterland Travel: "We explored a little of the Irbil area, came back to Baghdad, and we've been to Babylon and to Nippur, Nafa, Warka, Ur and to Basra, and we've also visited Najaf and Karbala." 7. Statue in hotel lobby 8. SOUNDBITE: (English) Tina Townsend Greaves, Tourist from England: "I think Iraq is safe for tourists but I think that maybe a few more of the sites need to be opened up to tourists, because if tourists are going to come to Iraq there's got to be things to see when they get here." 9. Tourists leaving hotel 10. Various of triumph arch in Baghdad's Green Zone, tourists walking along with US soldiers 11. Tourist taking photograph with digital camera 12. Mid of tourist group 13. US helicopters flying over the area 14. Two tourists standing 15. Various of tourists taking pictures and exploring the site 16. Wide of tourists walking along with US soldiers 17. SOUNDBITE: (English) Sergeant Gholson, US Army: "I think it's great when you see Americans here as tourists, and they're travelling, and they're here to visit Iraq. It shows that security has improved and things are getting better for our security." 18. Various of tourist buying souvenir in gift shop 19. Tourist walking with souvenir bag 20. Wide of triumph arch STORYLINE: The first officially sanctioned Western tour group since 2003 is visiting Iraq in what may be seen as the latest sign of improved security. The eight tourists - including Britons and Americans - are on a 15-day tour, which included stops in the semiautonomous Kurdish region and the ancient ruins of Babylon and Ur. The group even visited the site of the destroyed golden domed shrine in Samarra where a 2006 bombing triggered months of sectarian violence. The tourists said they felt safe, but some suggested there wasn't enough to see because many facilities remain closed. Tina Townsend Greaves is one of eight visitors on the first officially sanctioned tour of Iraq outside the semiautonomous northern Kurdish region since the March 2003 US invasion. But ancient ruins aside, touring war-torn Iraq for the last two weeks hasn't been as satisfying as Greaves had hoped. At her hotel on Saturday morning, preparing to sight-see in other parts of Baghdad, Greaves complained that some sights she wanted to explore during her two week visit were closed, such as Iraq's National Museum. The restored museum, which houses priceless artifacts from the Stone Age through the Babylonian, Assyrian and Islamic periods, reopened to the public on a limited basis last month but was closed Saturday. "I think Iraq is safe for tourists," Greaves said. "But I think maybe a few more of the sites need to be open to tourists because if tourists are going to come to Iraq, there has got to be things for them to see when they get here." With dashed hopes for seeing the museum, the group instead set off for the Ctesiphon Arch, a Persian ruin on the Tigris River near Salman Pak - once one of Iraq's most dangerous towns south of Baghdad. The tourists also went to the International Zone in the heart of Baghdad, where US-led forces and embassies are headquartered, and had their picture taken at the famous Crossed Swords landmark. The arches, depicting two hands holding swords, lead into parade grounds that Saddam Hussein had built after the Iran-Iraq war. The trip was organised by a British adventure travel agency in the latest indication of security improvements. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/56efe4704b28e2781ff188ad425b687f Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork