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Despite the negative image of the Middle East caused by recent political developments, Arab and Muslim countries with stands at this year’s World Travel Market in London were optimistic about the future of tourism. Major plans are being made to develop the industry and the focus on eco tourism is increasing. Some states are just trying to raise the number of visitors, others are concentrating on the regional rather than the international market, while Libya and Cyprus are expanding their fledgling tourist sectors.
According to Hani Shukrian of Jordan’s Cardo Tours, the major challenge for Arab countries is to promote their individual identities and not allow themselves to be lumped together as part of the troubled, unsafe Middle East. Two years ago the king himself made a promotional film about the country to dispel the image of danger. The focus is now on adventure and eco tourism and on the Iranian market. Political differences between the two countries have been resolved and at the end of November this year Iranians will be able to get a visa on arrival. The Jordanian Tourist Board is hoping to attract 50,000 Iranians in the first year. It is also concentrating on the Chinese market – China is a third of the world, Shukrian pointed out.
Shukri Abu Hamdan a tour operator based in Jerusalem has trouble showing potential tourists Palestine on a map. “Some people think it is Israel”. His solution is simple – he promotes the Holy Land, where pilgrimages have been made since the time of Jesus. No pilgrimage can be complete without visiting Bethlehem, Hebron, Jericho and Gaza.
Attracting UK tourists to Lebanon is major problem as the tourist office in London has closed, to the chagrin of Mitchell Hawes the Acting Manager UK & Ireland of Middle East Airlines. Ironically the anti-Muslim sentiment in the West, fuelled by September 11, resulted in a tourist boom from Gulf Arabs. “It’s an easy sell, there is a common language and all our emphasis is now on Arab based tourism”, Hawes explained. The country is providing chauffeur driven cars, luxury hotels are opening in Beirut and the high budget market is being catered for.
In 2000 a government commission was set up in Saudi Arabia to promote tourism. “We have the infrastructure, the historical sites, possibilities for eco tourism, wild life reserves, mountains and colourful marine life – now its just a matter of developing the services that support tourism, Abdulaziz Shaheen the Sr Manager for Tour Programmes at Saudi Arabian Airlines believes. Two specialised tourist training colleges have opened in the kingdom.
The Japanese are Saudi Arabia’s best customers because of the parallels between the two cultures, especially conservatism and the focus on family life. The kingdom is also popular with Italians who are very fond of diving in the Red Sea.
“We have to create an awareness about tourism – Saudi Arabia was like a forbidden country unless you were a pilgrim or a businessman looking for contracts”,” Shaheen said. He admits that security can be an obstacle due to problems in the region and “hot zones” like Iraq and Palestine.
The European Council’s decision to prepare regulations aimed at ending the isolation of North Cyprus will have a profound effect on the development of tourism as direct flights are likely to resume in 2005. Dervis Deniz, the Minister of Economy and Tourism is convinced that after 30 years on the sidelines the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is poised to take its place in the international community. He held a press conference at the WTM to emphasise that the island will be promoting quality tourism in accordance with a master plan which should be completed by the end of this year.
North Cyprus houses 90 percent of the history of Cyprus and will be developed as a centre for historic-heritage tourism rather than a mass tourist market for people who only see the beach and the hotel. If large hotel chains want to invest in the island they will have to restrict themselves to medium size development and priority will be given to conserving the wild life, especially the indigenous 400 green turtles.
Like North Cyprus, Turkey is insisting on being part of Europe. The Turks have been coming en masse to the WTM during the past 16 years and each major tourist region had its own stand at this year’s WTM. The focus is on numbers and on EU membership. In 2003, 12 million tourists came to Turkey – the target of 14 million for 2004 is close to being reached and the goal for 2010 is 25 million tourists and $30bn in tourist revenues.
The Turks won’t give up their campaign to be part of Europe and Which Continent Ltd a London-based project development consultancy brought its Yes2Turkey venture to the WTM. The project comes in the form of an internet quiz at www.yes2turkey.org supported with links to different international organisations including the OECD, the United Nations, UNESCO, ILO etc and relies on international news sources such as Reuters and the International Herald Tribune.
“There is an overall perception that Turkey is a country filed with bearded men in baggy trousers, veiled women, a poor human rights record, religion related to backwardness and volatile economic indicators”, explained Mehmet Eksi the Managing Director of Which Continent. “Turkish people up to now did not bother to argue against the false perceptions , we were happy with who we are and almost completely ignored what others thought about us. However, now that Turkey is at the stage of being considered as a potential member of the European Union we believe it is time to reveal some of the unknown facts, so we created www.ues2turkey.org.”. The website has many interesting facts and valuable insights for would-be tourists who may be deterred by the baggy trousers stereotype.
Reconciliation with the West resulted in a boon for Libya’s tourist industry. “We have the history, we have the sea, we have the desert and we have ancient heritage sites- the tourist industry in Libya has a bright future – it will grow from strength to strength”. This optimistic message from Mustafa Shibani of the General Peoples Committee for Tourism was echoed by the eight Libyan tourist companies who spread their brochures and giant colour posters across a spacious stand which had the air of the expanse of the desert.
The WTM, which celebrated its 25th anniversary with this year’s exhibition at the Excel Exhibition Centre from November 8th - 11th is the international travel industry's premier business-to-business forum at which over 5,000 leading suppliers and 44,000 industry professionals from over 190 countries were represented. The presence of Middle Eastern states has been increasing over the years. Turkey has been attending from the WTM’s first years, the Gulf States have made their presence felt since the 1980s while Libya is an enthusiastic new comer.
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