Oman celebrates Arab Tourism Day under the theme "Tourism and Sustainable Development"

Ahmed Al-Mehrazi:
Tourism is an autonomous industry and a cornerstone of Oman's economic diversification program

President of the Arab Tourism Organization:
Achieving the sustainable development of Arab tourism requires joint action and an integrated vision

Muscat: The Sultanate of Oman participates in the celebration of Arab Tourism Day under the theme "Tourism and Sustainable Development", with the aim of focusing on the development of sustainable tourism, to encourage tourism and to present the main tourist destinations of the Arab world.
The theme of this year's Arab Tourism Day, which marks the anniversary of the birth of the famous Arab traveler Ibn Battuta, reflects the importance of sustainable development and the application of its principles in various destinations, models, experiences and tourism projects to preserve, preserve and guarantee the environmental, cultural, social and economic characteristics of each country. For future generations.
HE Ahmed Bin Nasser Al-Mehrazi, Minister of Tourism, said: "The celebration by the Sultanate of Arab Tourism Day aims to strengthen efforts to achieve sustainable tourism development, by encouraging the circulation of inter-Arab tourism in the Arab countries and taking advantage of the natural and cultural elements, while preserving and preserving them.Common in the Arab community, which is a catalyst for the increase of Arab tourist exchanges. "
The Sultanate is considered one of the major tourist destinations that attract Gulf and Arab tourist traffic throughout the year: the number of visitors to the Sultanate in 2018 from the GCC countries was of 1,472,231, while the number of visitors from the countries Other Arab brother countries 182,377 visitors, according to data from the National Center for Statistics and Information.
He pointed out that Dhofar is one of the main tourist destinations in terms of tourist attraction: the autumn season and the tourist festival of Salalah in 2018 attracted 153,588 GCC visitors and 22,306 visitors from other Arab countries.
On the theme "Tourism and Sustainable Development", the theme of "Tourism and Sustainable Development" this year and the efforts of the Sultanate to achieve the principles and objectives of this slogan, HE the Minister of Tourism said: "The efforts of the Sultanate and his wise government led by His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said are clear and concrete, Achieving the principles and objectives of comprehensive and sustainable development in all sectors In the tourism sector, we base this strong approach on our pillars of Oman's Tourism Strategy, based on the adoption of the Sustainability Model, which aims to bring benefits to local communities while preserving the environment and cultural heritage.
Sustainable tourism development
The Sultanate is a member of the Tourism and Sustainable Development Committee of the World Tourism Organization (WTO) on the sidelines of the FAO General Assembly in Colombia in 2015, attended by 158 member countries. The Tourism and Sustainable Development Committee is composed of nine major continents and regional tourist areas in the world The consensus of the Middle East countries has been to choose the Sultanate as the only representative of the region within this committee, in because of his efforts and his leading role in this regard.
The Sultanate, represented by the Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Heritage and Culture, hosted the activities of the Second World Tourism Organization and the UNESCO Conference on Tourism and Culture in December 2017. the end of the year, proclaimed by the United Nations International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development. In promoting sustainable development, the declaration affirmed the commitment of Member States to strengthen the harmonious and mutually beneficial relationship between tourism and culture and to increase the level of contribution of cultural tourism to the program. United Nations Sustainable Development Strategy for 2030 and Promoting the Role of Tourism and Culture in Peace Building and Heritage Protection, particularly in crisis-affected areas; Call for the responsible and sustainable management of cultural heritage through tourism, promoting innovative methods for sustainable urban development through cultural tourism, and the environment to achieve sustainable tourism.
Promote joint action
HE Ahmed Bin Nasser Al-Mehrazi, Minister of Tourism, concluded his statement by stating, "We look forward to working with our brethren in the Arab countries to activate and strengthen the joint work of tourism and achieve the goals of the Arab Strategy for Tourism. tourism as a Sultanate and many Arab countries and, despite the challenges, continue to make tourism an autonomous industry.The elements of economic diversification, which require us to pay attention to the issue of competitiveness and integration in the travel and tourism sectors in order to achieve development and growth as well as optimal use of this sector because of their positive effects on the economic, social, cultural and environmental aspects of communities and nations and their ability to to actively stimulate other sectors to achieve the goals of sustainable development. "
For its part, the Arab Tourism Organization called on all Arab countries to celebrate the Arab Tourism Day, on 25 February each year, in a press release by Dr. Bandar bin Fahad Al Fahid, President of the Organization of Arab tourism based in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia: Sustainable development of countries requires an integrated vision with other aspects that will be adopted in the long term in terms of social, cultural and economic development and impact on host communities. "
Al Fahid pointed out that the tourism industry was a necessity and not a luxury as a means of positive and permanent development enabling communities to organize it according to rational tourism plans and push it to implement the principles of development, which can contribute directly and indirectly to the achievement of the sustainable development goals adopted by world leaders in September 2015. The protection of the planet and the guarantee of the equality and well-being of all , where tourism occupies a prominent place in the objectives that have been adopted and are linked to sustainable and inclusive economic development, production and consumption and the sustainable use of marine resources. "
According to the president of the Arab Tourism Organization, the volume of investment in the tourism sector in the Arab countries is expected to reach $ 323 billion by the end of the year 2020, while the tourism sector will directly contribute to the employment of about 10 million people, accounting for 12% of total employment in the Arab countries.
Al Fahid predicted that by 2015, the Arab region will reach the equivalent of 195 million tourists, compared to 75 million tourists attracted by the region on 1.4 billion tourists who crossed the world in 2018 , pointing out that the average expenditure of Arab tourists for a five-day trip No less than $ 4,500, exceeding the expenditures of foreign tourists, often grouped, confirming the importance of the development of Arab tourism and development because of its direct economic impact on Arab countries and peoples.
Strengthening tourism cooperation
It should be noted that the award of an annual day to celebrate Arab tourism, which marks the anniversary of the birth of the famous Arab traveler Ibn Battuta on February 25 of each year, is a translation of the decision made by the Arab Tourism Ministers at the 17th Ministerial Council of Arab Tourism. In November 2014, dedicating a solemn ceremony to strengthen cooperation in Arab tourism, activate the inter-tourism movement and integrate efforts to develop the tourism sector in Arab countries by highlighting events and most important projects. And tourist destinations in different Arab cities that organizes or events welcome festive occasion.
The Sultanate organized in February of last year 2018 at the headquarters of the Ministry of Tourism the official celebration of the Arab Tourism Organization on the occasion of the Arab Tourism Day, during which SE Ahmed bin Nasser Al-Mehrazi, Minister of Tourism, received the Arab Tourism Key for the year 2018 and was the second person in the Arab world to receive this honor.