Within this context, the ministerial round table discussion on “Policies and Strategies for Developing Tourism in the Middle East and North Africa Region,” organized by Casa Árabe and the UNWTO at Fitur, highlighted the importance of this recovery for the region’s economies and the advancements achieved in the field of tourism cooperation amongst certain countries in this area.

 

This was the third edition of a ministerial meeting which, as in other years, included attendance by tourism ministers and representatives from the most important countries receiving tourism in the region. It has increased in strength as a key platform for sharing best practices and identifying strategic areas of tourism development in the region. 

At the opening, the Secretary General of the UNWTO, Taleb Rifai, remarked how Spain has a crucial role to play in bringing Europe and the Middle Eastern countries closer, while tourism “is one of the most important vehicles for the region’s comeback, which is what is occurring, creating jobs and reducing poverty.” As for the State Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Ignacio Ybáñez Rubio, he emphasized how, within the framework of redefining the European Union’s neighbors policy, in which Spain is actively participating, “there is no better Neighbors Policy than promoting tourism, because it promotes the sharing of experiences and knowledge.” Along these lines, the General Director of Casa Árabe, Eduardo López Busquets, underlined the important role held by tourism in the Arab countries, not only as an economic motor, but also as a factor promoting social and political stability, and how stability and prosperity in the Mediterranean affects the stability and prosperity of Spain and the European Union.

The debate was devoted to analyzing the future prospects of tourism in the region and the different strategies and measures which are being implemented in different countries to speed up and consolidate the tourism industry’s recovery, promote different destinations’ competitiveness and foment investments in this sector.

Taking part in the round table discussion, in the order of their interventions, were the Moroccan Minister of Tourism, Lahcen Haddad, who highlighted the importance of political will in promoting the industry; the Director General of the ONTT in Tunisia, Wahida Jaiet, who commented on how democratic consolidation will be essential to the industry’s recovery in Tunisia; the Lebanese Minister of Tourism, Michel Pharaon, who praised the contribution of an active civil society in developing tourism initiatives; the Director General of the Jordan Tourism Board, Abdelrazzaq Arabiyat, who underlined the need to get local communities and social networks involved; Palestine’s Minister of Tourism and Ancient Artifacts, Rula Ma’ayah, who mentioned how, even in situations under occupation, tourism can withstand and even grow; Iraq’s Minister of Tourism and Ancient Artifacts, Adil Fahad Shrshab, who emphasized the importance of regional cooperation, and the Undersecretary of Oman’s Ministry of Tourism, Maitha Al Mahrouqi, who talked about the need to invest in both infrastructure and human capital. Sudan’s Minister of Tourism was also present, in addition to ambassadors and tourism representatives from the Arab countries, amongst the more than 120 people attending, as well as companies, experts, industry consultants and students, including a delegation of 23 tourism students from the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos.

The spotlight of the event, or so-called “rising star,” was Oman, because its tourism industry has undergone the most growth in recent years. “In addition to responsible tourism, culture and heritage have provided great added value in terms of Oman’s position as one of the best tourist destinations in the region,” commented Maitha Al Mahrouqi, in an exclusive interview for Casa Árabe.

During this period of political change and economic transformation, a whole series of tourism promotion policies and strategies are being put into action to open up new markets and adapt products to the shifting consumer models and new technologies (with new packages for cultural tourism, religious tourism, ecotourism, spa therapies, etc.), as well as ensuring the sustainable growth of tourism in these countries, with their wealth and diversity of resources and environments. In this sense, Spain is positioning itself as a role-model and key partner for exporting know-how to the region. As underlined by Wahida Jaiet, in an interview for Casa Árabe, “we are inspired by Spain, and its experience is highly valuable, but we must adjust it to our own reality and prospects: quality of service is essential.”

The need to promote greater regional Cooperation in the field of tourism was the focus of several of the interventions. This was one of the topics commented on by the speakers from Jordan and Palestine, highlighting the initiatives which they have begun to develop jointly, with the help of both public institutions and private companies and managers. Rula Maayah pointed out in this sense that, in the field of religious tourism, which both of their countries receive a great deal of, Jordan and Palestine are not competitors but instead complementary, “which is why we think that we should work together to benefit from each other’s tourism and sign a joint agreement to strengthen these sectors in both of our countries.” Promoting this type of cooperation at the regional level was one of the subjects defended by the Tourism Minister of Sudan, Mohamad Abdul Karim Al-Hud, in an interview for Casa Árabe after the event.

In addition to the proliferation of projects and investments in the tourism and entertainment industry and the infrastructures in the region, to provide data on the efforts being made by countries in the Middle East and North Africa, he emphasized that, as made clear at the Fitur 2015 program presentation, this year the Middle East’s presence rose by 24% at the trade fair, in which Sudan participated for for the first time ever, in addition to other countries.