Role of Legal Services in Tourism Development: A Case of the Republic of lraq

The Republic of Iraq is a potential tourist destination. However, the country has witnessed persistent civil disturbance in the past several decades. High levels of civil unrest, political instability, and widely reported cases of human rights abuses in the country and the region at large have created economic uncertainty, especially in the country’s tourism sector. To this end, this study employs a survey to investigate the impacts of political and economic stability, legal services, functional local authority, and accessibility on tourism. Three hundred questionnaires were administered and collected from conveniently accessed respondents for data analysis. In the study, empirical evidence for the hypotheses examined was found to be significant, with the three factors having positive effects on the development of the tourism sector in Iraq. This investigation also offers policy directives to stakeholders in the tourism sector in Iraq, especially in the area of offering quality legal services to protect the rights of tourists from potential human rights abuses and security issues. Furthermore, the study reveals the critical roles of political and economic stability, functional local authorities, and accessibility of destinations.