Syria has enacted laws to encourage local and international tourism projects. Foreigners have been allowed to own land and projects, and their capital could be repatriated in hard currency after five years of operations.
All tourism projects are exempted from taxes and duties for the first seven years after which they are levied 50 per cent for good, said Sawsan Jouzy Bach-our, counsellor to Syria's minister of tourism.
She said: "The Syrian government has adopted tourism as an industry and a major pillar of the country's economy. The Ministry of Tourism doesn't consider the industry as a source of income only but also a means to build bridges between people and give Syria's real image.
"Hence, tourism investment has been encouraged by updating regulations, providing new tax incentives covering the main construction and development periods as well as allowing Arab and foreign investors to own land."
"Arab nationals represent more than 70 per cent of tourists flying in to Syria to enjoy more than 3,000 archaeological sites and 35 different civilisations annually.
"The percentage is expected to rise this year. Our country has the potential to develop a major tourism industry. It also offers a wonderful geographical diversity ranging from Mediterranean beaches to green mountains and fertile valleys."
According to her, Syria has an unrivalled historical and archaeological heritage.
As per the ministry's recent statistics, Syria witnessed an increase in the number of arrivals by three per cent in 2003 compared with 2002, and 17 per cent in 2002, with 2.1 million tourists compared with 1.8 million in 2001.
"Syria has been a crossroads of civilisation," she added. |