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Middle East: Middle East Tourism Profile

2012/08/15

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Middle East Tourism Profile

Worldwide, there were 703 million tourists in 2002, estimated in the World Tourist Organisation (WTO)'s Tourism 2020 Vision report, to reach 1.6bn by 2020. Looking at the first two decades of the new millennium, the WTO projects that the Middle East will be the second fastest growing in-bound region, after East Asia, anticipating 36m visitors by 2010, increasing to 69m international arrivals by 2020. Using 1995 as a base, with 12.4m arrivals this represents a 7.1% projected annual growth against a world average of 4.1%. The region's market share of world tourism, some 2.2% in 1995 will increase to 4.4% by 2020. In terms of tourism receipts, the Middle East accounted for 2.7% of the worldwide total of $474bn in 2002.

Tourist numbers and their origins

The arrivals figures in the Middle East in 2002 show a rise of 10.6% to 24m, following a fall of 4% in 2001 according to WTO figures--far outstripping the world average. The increase was boosted by intra-regional travel between the Arab countries, boosted by the number of travellers who shied away from traditionally popular destinations such as Europe and the USA. The two countries currently much favoured by the Arabian Gulf marker are Egypt and Lebanon, which despite experiencing a downturn in early 2003, are now showing respective annual growth rates of 7% ,and 4%. Intra-regional demand is the trend of the future with the ratio between intra-regional and long haul shifting from 82:18 in 1995 to 76:24 by 2020, according to WTO forecasts. A significant factor in all tourism is now the promotional business aspect known as MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences, exhibitions). The Bahrain Tourism department is already reporting steady growth in this .area for 2002-2003. The quality of the hotels in the area as well as the newly developed conference centres and their high standard of service are sure to attract many international events. New infrastructures are however only one side of the coin. The other aspect of expanding tourism is of course the protection of the natural assets of the area.

he environmental well-being of tourist destinations is high on the agenda of any new development programme. It has become a regional imperative to achieve a healthy equilibrium between tourist growth and the protection and preservation of natural assets. One example of such an achievement is El Gouna, situated on the Red Sea, which in 2003 was recognised as Egypt's most environmentally friendly destination, receiving four out of eight Green Globe certifications. Other countries with a particular penchant for eco-friendly tourism are Jordan, with a wealth of architectural sites such as Petra and Jerash, and Oman, which goes to great lengths to protect its natural wonders such as shoals of dolphins and nesting turtles. Dubai is also heavily involved in the promotion of eco-friendly tourism.

Central link in network

Hotel Benchmark at Deloitte & Touche, the largest independent compiler of hotel performance data outside the US, also have encouraging statistics recording an increase of demand for hotel rooms of 5.2% in 2002 and an average occupancy rate across the Middle East of 61%. All the major hotel groups (Radisson-SAS, Crowne Plaza, Hilton, Le Meridien, Intercontinental, Ritz Carlton, Marriott, Movenpick, etc.) are wall represented in the region and expanding their portfolio constantly.

Egyptian ports saw the taut of 24.5m tourists on steamers, 4.8m on transit ships mid 4.1m aboard other vessels including cruise ships in 2002. While over hi the Gulf, Bahrain International Airport (BIA) handled 4.16m passengers in 2002 and is expecting 4.5m by 2003.

The Middle East is expected to form a central link in the world's first network of regional airports in a plan to open new routes, avoid flight delays and generate new business and jobs; the projects known as "Plane Station" is expected to see 30 airports including 11 in the Middle East becoming fully operational and handling millions of passengers by 2007. As one example, Qatar Airways plans to invest $2bn in the continued expansion of Doha International Airport; the new airport, with an upgraded duty free area promised to be one of the largest in the world, will become fully operational in 2006, when Qatar will become the first Middle Eastern country to host the Asian Games, attracting over 10,000 athletes and many more spectators. With a similar positive outlook, BIA expects to handle up to 10m passengers in 2010, in line with the current investment programme of $200m, aiming at doubling capacity and facilities within three to four years.

Mega-investment

The airline industry in the region is buoyant and expansion plans abound, as well as new carriers entering the fray; the no-frills airline Air Arabia launched in October this year. The initial flight network includes Muscat, Doha, Beirut and Shiraz (in Iran); its concept is similar to that of easyJet in Europe: It is a ticketless airline, with flights booked on the internet (www.airabla.com) and with no meals on board. Another "no frills airline" is expected to take to the skies in the very near future, menaJet Oman Air, which recently celebrated 10 years of operations, reported 30% growth in 2003, over the previous year; Meanwhile, Qatar Airways has made history as the first airline in the world to pass tire new international air transport associations (IATA) Operational Safety Audit (IOSA), with 100% compliance. The airline added Seoul (South Korea) to their destinations, becoming the first Arab carrier to do so. The route was inaugurated on 29 October and will be known as the "Oriental Express". The airline also signed a $5.1 bn order for 32 more Airbus aircraft in June as well as being one of the launch customers for the A380 super jumbo in 2009. All the other major players in the area such as Saudi Airlines, Gulf Air, Kuwait Airways and Emirates have ambitious expansion plans with many new routes to be added and several fleet additions are on order.

As well as airlines and airports making great strides forward, many Middle Eastern countries are making efforts to promote themselves as destinations of the future. Saudi Arabia is investing heavily in promoting the sector and Kuwait's newly established tourism sector, managed by the Ministry of Information, has undertaken a Tourism Masterplan, with the specific aim of attracting more intra-regional visitors as well as European and Far Eastern ones. Jordan's Tourism Board (JTB) is expecting to see an increase of 25% in overnight visitors from their key markets like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the UAE and Bahrain, following their massive programme to develop products to meet the specific tastes and needs of Arab families, including launching a special "summer camps" programme to make travelling with children hassle free.

libyan aspirations

Libya, which is looking to reach the million tourist mark within five years, was heavily promoting its heritage and diving potential at the World travel market (WTM), recently held in London. A 300 room hotel opened in Tripoli in April financed by the Corinthia group; another 1200 bed hotel in Tripoli and 100 beds in Negaza are in the pipeline. Syria saw an increase in visitors from 1.8m in 2001 to 2.1m in 2002, an increase of 17%. This was primarily due to an increase in Arab visitors, particularly from Lebanon, Jordan and the Gulf. The Syrian Ministry of Tourism is actively pursuing a promotional campaign to attract European visitors as well as hoping to entice Syrian expatriates, particularly those in Australia and the US to come and visit their homeland. Although tourism in Yemen represents only 5% of GDP; it plays a major role in the employment of the national population and the government is hoping drat this trend will continue, as the memory of the earlier tourist kidnappings Fade; it is currently Germans and Italians who particularly favour the country's unique attractions.

Countries that are newer to the game are also getting themslves organised. Qatar launched its tourism authority (QTA) in 2000, to promote its image worldwide. The country is now getting ready to host some prestigious events over the coming months. This month, they will host the Exxon Mobil Qatar Open Men's Tennis; in March, the international Festival of the Horse as well as the European PGA GolfTournament followed by the World Travel and Tourism Council's 4th Global Travel and Tourism Summit (WTTC) in May, which is the forum for global business leaders and the only body representing the private sector of the worldwide travel and tourism industry; Doha will host the North Sea Jazz Festival in June and in 2006, the Asian Games.