Unrest spurs tourism challenges for Middle East and North Africa

Tourism leaders yesterday highlighted the challenges and opportunities that the Middle East and North Africa are facing during a time of upheaval in the region.

The Arabian Travel Market at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre in Dubai. (Satish Kumar / The National)

Unrest in parts of the Middle East and North Africa cost the region an estimated 7 million tourists last year, industry leaders says.

Taleb Rifai, the secretary general of the UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) highlighted the challenges and opportunities the region faces while speaking at the Arabian Travel Market in Dubai

Tourism to the Middle East and North Africa is expected to reach 195 million visitors by 2030, up from 18 million in 1990, he said.

"The opportunities are significant and the challenges are also as significant," said Mr Rifai.

The unrest divided countries in the region into three groups in terms of tourism performance, he said.

"First the group of countries that were doing very well and were indirectly and severely affected, and the prime examples of that were Tunisia and Egypt.

"Second is a group of countries that were affected by the spillover and I will give examples of that in Jordan and Lebanon. Thirdly, there were countries that actually managed to sustain growth and did extremely well - Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman, the Emirates."

Egypt tourism numbers fell 33 per cent last year because of the revolution there, according to official figures.

"It is such a labour-intensive industry and that is very important in a country where every year you have 800,000 young men and women who are looking for job opportunities and this is the case in Egypt," said Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour, the minister of tourism for Egypt.

"I'm confident that Egypt is going to bounce back, providing it succeeds in diversifying its products, it succeed in diversifying its source markets. It needs to go [off] the beaten path, and this is the case for all Arab markets. Egypt also, in addition, has to make sure that it takes the necessary measures for the conservation of its historical heritage and for preservation of the environment. It is a challenge."

Qatar highlighted that a more unified approach to tourism was needed in the Gulf region.

"The GCC should have a shared tourist visa," said Ahmed Abdullah Al Nuaimi, the chairman of Qatar Tourism Authority.

Mr Rifai highlighted that risks to the European economy, as well as visa and tax regulations, could have a significant impact on the global travel industry.

"Europe is still the backbone of world tourism. We are also worried about Europe in terms of austerity measures, which are tempting many governments to impose taxes - it's a vicious circle. It's encouraging more and more Europeans to stay within Europe."

Meanwhile, Dubai Properties yesterday announced it had dedicated a 70 million square foot section of Dubailand for eco-friendly Bedouin desert camps, to be developed by third-party investors.

"The size of Dubailand is massive and its terrain actually is also very tempting for the desert operators and for the tour operators and also for the visitors to Dubai," said Khalid Al Malik, the chief executive of Dubai Properties.

"Without a doubt we do have an organic destination for such activities and for tourists to come and enjoy the environment of the desert in Dubai.

"That was one of the original projects of Dubailand."

The UAE has applied to join the UNWTO, it was revealed yesterday.

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