A $85 million, five star, 23-storey hotel rising in the city centre; an opulent palace complex being turned into a theme park; cheap flights to the picturesque 'Venice of the East': all the trappings of a country gearing up for a tourist boom. Except that the country in question is Iraq, possibly the most dangerous place in the world, with a daily toll of dead from bombs and bullets, and foreigners viewed as kidnapping material. After President George W Bush officially declared a successful end to the Iraq War, investors rushed to seminars and conferences eager to get their slice of the action of the commercial riches. Following decades of privation caused by wars and United Nations sanctions, the country - with its massive oil wealth promised fabulous returns, and its vast array of antiquities, picturesque marshland and miles of golden coast, as well as 102 airports - made tourism look particularly promising.