Tourism to the Middle East growing faster than any other region in the world

Tourism to the Middle East is taking off, led by countries such as Syria, which experienced 34% growth in the first quarter of 2004, and no slow down is expected despite a bombing incident on Tuesday night in the capitals diplomatic quarter.

At a news conference in Damascus, where the World Tourism Organization (WTO) is holding the annual meeting of its Middle East commission, Secretary-General Francesco Frangialli congratulated Syria for being on the right track in tourism development, adding: "The bombing was an exceptional and unprecedented incident, I am certain that there will be no impact on tourism."

WTO events continued without interuption and it was business as usual in the Syrian capital on Wednesday. A 2,000 km road rally that will take participants from several Arab countries including film stars on a tour throughout Syria was launched by Syrian Tourism Minisiter Saadallah Agha Al Kalaa and Mr. Frangialli, demonstrating the high-level of security that exists all over the country.

Syria is a peaceful and stable country that has not experienced a similar problem in nearly 20 years, the minister said, praising police for acting professionally, swiftly and wisely to bring the incident under control in one hour and limit casualties. The bombing, which resulted in four deaths, did not target tourists and is being considered an isolated incident.

Tour operators are expected to continue sending their clients into Syria because there was no change in travel advisories to the country, according to International Federation of Tour Operators President Martin Brackenbury, who is also attending the meetings.

The WTO session on Thursday will deal with the controversial issue of travel advisories. Although governments have the responsibility to warn their citizens about possible dangers they may encounter when travelling abroad, they also acknowledge the devastating effect advisories can have on the tourism-dependent economies of many countries and are looking for ways to make them more fair and less damaging.

Mr. Frangialli and Minister Al Kalaa held talks this week with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Prime Minister Mohammad Naji Otri, who both indicated their commitment to the development of the industry, saying that tourism can be the oil of Syria.

Defying conventional wisdom that indicates tourists steer clear of the worlds political hot spots, tourism to the Middle East is growing faster than any other region of the world, with an increase of 17% in arrivals in 2002 and 10% in 2003, a year that saw negative tourism growth worldwide. This is due to the emergence of trendy new destinations such as Syria, Lebanon, Dubai and Egyptian Red Sea resorts. It can also be attributed to new markets for the Middle East, such as Russia and Asia. But above all, intra-Arab travel is driving the tourism boom, as people choose holiday destinations that are closer to home.

As part of the WTO meetings, a two-day seminar on E-Tourism: The Route to Competitive Success brought together the worlds leading experts on Internet and tourism to discuss how to develop destination websites and e-commerce for private sector tourism companies, such as hotels, travel agencies and tour operators.