Tourist promotion : everyone's business
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Syrian Times 9 January 2004
Nidal Machfej, Promotion Director at the Tourism Ministry, said
the development and promotion of a tourist product was a collective responsibility and should be shouldered by all government and private parties even individuals.
"The tourism process needs everyone's contribution in order to be complete, organized and convincing to everyone who comes to Syria,he stressed.
Following the adoption of a new vision of tourism, Machfej went on to say, being a strategic industry and the basic element of national economy, it is necessary to hold coordination between the Tourism Ministry and entire parties concerned. Consequently, our tourist product be at the level hoped for, and attracts a larger number of tourists with a view to boosting economy and contributing to setting right Syriaأکآµs image which is falsely depicted by some of the world media.
Giving an insight into entire last year's achievements of the ministry, Machfej pointed out that the promotion plan for 2003 was carried out completely. This is represented in the ministryأکآµs participation in 18 specialized tourist exhibitions in the most important countries that export tourists such as Spain, Germany, Italy, Greece, France, Sweden, Holland, etc..
We, Machfej added, have developed the mechanism of the ministryأکآµs participation in these exhibitions, as we moved from the classic style which is limited to the distribution of brochures and publications to holding accompanying activities either inside or outside the exhibition such as bringing in folkloric artistic troupes, offering souvenirs, holding exhibitions of photos and heritage handicraft, organizing press conferences to which invitations are extended to the most important newspapers and media, tourism companies and investors in the host country.
In addition, we hold workshops that cover various axes including rehabilitation, training, investment and promotion.
Machfej pointed out, 'We had a distinguished presence in Dubai Al-Badia Festival and at the Shopping Festival, where the ministry's participation was in the form of a Bedouin tent in which a number of Syrian Badia-related handicrafts were displayed, in addition to the Raqqa folk troupe.
We also participated in the International Visitor Program held in the United States last June. أ¢â‚¬آڈ
A Syrian Tourist Week, Machfej added, was held in Battenburg District, Germany, last August which included shows of folk dance, traditional handicraft, photograph exhibition, a festival of Syrian dishes, and a camel race patronized by German station DDR A press conference was also held in the presence of the city mayor and the economy minister of the district. During the conference, we highlighted Syria's attractive tourist characteristics foremost of which are security and stability.
In coordination with the Foreign Ministry, Machfej pointed out, the ministry invited a large number of Arab and foreign press who are well known for their high credibility, and tours of archeological and tourist sites in Syria were organized. In turn, these journalists spoke in their media about their experience in the country, highlighting Syria's antiquities and nature, her security and stability, totally opposite to what some western media are promoting. Furthermore, we invited work groups from global T.V. stations who produced T.V. films on Syria screened on their channels, and we cooperated with a number of foreign writers who came to Syria to write books on Syria's history and famous personalities.
The ministry also received a number of tourism experts, who stayed in Syria studying the status of tourism and its development.
Regarding publications, we published various brochures and leaflets, tourist maps in well known languages; Arabic, English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, and Japanese.
In addition to publishing a collection of tourist books such as Damascene Houses And Palaces Syria, History And CivilizationIslamic Tourism Machfej said the ministry collected all decisions that organize tourism investment in Syria and published them in Arabic and English.
Last year's Silk Road Festival received a large number of press men and T.V. stations from Italy, Germany, Turkey, Greece, France, Cyprus, and Spain, and foreign artistic troupes participated in the festivalأ¢â‚¬â„¢s activities. This festival is considered a starting point of a series of similar activities to be held at various sites,Machfej said.
"Tourism promotion is now a science based on field and marketing studies as well as data on the status of the tourist market of every target country as regards to the number of potential tourists, tourist spending, and the type of tourism he wants, etc., he explained.
Tourism promotion, Machfej added, is a form of investment in the long term and takes time to get its fruits, but on the other hand suitable environment must be ensured so that the tourism process is complete. This necessitates the cooperation of entire ministries and parties concerned such as transport, the interior, communications, customs, municipalities, etc., in addition to the improvement of services offered at tourist facilitations, enhancing a citizenأکآµs tourist awareness along with increasing his tourist culture.
In conclusion, Machfej said, The coming generation should be aware of the importance of tourism as an essential source of national income and as an effective tool to create a human civilizational dialogue among peoples to establish sound relations on the basis of a tangible true knowledge and not on what some anti-Arab media falsely depict.
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Amman Office / Agents
Mr. Motaz Othman
P.O. Box 841113 Amman 111180
Amman – Jordan
Mobile : +962 785 557 778,
Tel: +962 6 4618615, Fax:+962 6 4618613, E-mail: itmamman@tcph.org |
عمان
السيد معتز عثمان
ص.ب 841113
عمان – المملكة الأردنية الهاشمية
لتغطية الدول التالية: سوريا، الأردن،
لبنان، السعودية والعرا ق |
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