PATWA NEWS ONLINE

Forecasts Bright Future for Regional Tourism

TALEB RIFAI Secretary General, UNWTO

Despite events of the Arab Spring, and potential uncertainty in the wake of austerity measures in key source European markets, there is a bright future ahead for tourism in the Middle East and North Africa, according to a consensus of delegates at the first United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) and Arabian Travel Market (ATM) industry forum. The summit which took place at ATM is now set to become an annual fixture that brings together both government and private sector officials to seek common goals and mutual benefits from the promotion of travel in to the region.
Speaking at the forum, UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai, called the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) region a ‘tourism success story in the first decade of the 21st century’, with the majority of markets already showing a strong rebound following the challenges of the last 12 months. Rifai also shared some insight into the regional situation and gave a positive prognosis for the future. “We are very impressed by the rate of recovery of some of the most affected countries in the region. Countries that were directly affected, like Egypt, Tunisia, Syria and Yemen, saw a downturn of 80-85 percent as political events unfolded, but minimised their losses considerably in 2011, closing the year down by 25-30 percent.”
“The potential for growth is still excellent as we are starting from a low nominal base in the region. Even with 79 to 80 million tourist arrivals, the region has less than 8 percent of the world’s intake of tourists, which currently stands at almost one billion. The MENA region deserves much more,” he added. While UNWTO statistics recorded the loss of an estimated seven million tourists across the region last year, the organization is projecting a seven percent annual growth rate over the next 20 years with visitor totals hitting 195 million by 2030, up from 79 million in 2010.