Organisation of Islamic Cooperation
The Collective Voice of The Muslim World
Date: 01/07/2008
Damascus, Syrian Arab Republic 29 June – 2 July 2008 H.E. Eng. Mohammed Naji Otri, Prime Minister of the Syrian Arab Republic, representing H.E. Mr. Bashar Alassad, President of the Syrian Arab Republic, H.E. Mr. Abulfas Qarayev, Minister of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Chairman of the 5th ICTM. H.E. the Minister of Tourism of the Syrian Arab Republic, Dr. Saadallah Agha Al-Kalaa, Excellencies, the Ministers and Heads of Delegations, Representing the OIC Member and Observer States, Honorable Delegates and Guests, It is a great pleasure for me to participate in this Sixth Session of the Islamic Conference of Tourism Ministers (ICTM) of the Member States of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), at this beautiful and historic city of Damascus known for is cultural and historical richness over a long period of time. Let me express at the outset my gratitude to H.E. Mr. Bashar Al-Asad, President of the Syrian Arab Republic and his Government for their generous initiative of inviting this Session of the ICTM and for all the arrangements ensuring its success. We are also grateful for the personal attendance of His Excellency Eng. Mohammed Naji Otri, Prime Minister of the Syrian Arab Republic at this inaugural session. The convening of this Sixth Session of the ICTM in Damascus reflects once again the support extended to the OIC by the Syrian Arab Republic. We just concluded with great success the 11th Islamic Summit Conference of the OIC on 13-14 March, 2008, in Dakar, Republic of Senegal and the 35th Session of the Conference of Foreign Affairs (CFM) on 18-20 June 2008, in Kampala, Republic of Uganda. The Islamic Summit Conference adopted a New Charter for the OIC, which will re-energise the Organisation. The 11th Islamic Summit and the 35th CFM adopted important economic decisions within the framework of implementation of the OIC Ten Year Programme of Action. The meetings adopted many resolutions to assist Member States in the areas of economic affairs. Mostly, there was a common understanding during the meetings that Muslim countries need to forge a New Economic Partnership for the benefit and prosperity of Ummah. The economies of the OIC Member States are rich with natural assets, financial capitals and human resources. These endowments are excellent ingredients to put the Ummah on the path of sustainable development. Mr. Chairman, Honorable Delegates and Guests, The development of the tourism sector in the OIC Member States is firmly bound on a direct course towards achieving the objectives of The OIC Ten-Year Programme of Action, which was adopted by the Third Extraordinary Summit Conference in Makkah Al-Mukarramah. Tourism has also been identified as one of the ten priority areas of cooperation in the OIC Plan of Action to Strengthen Economic and Commercial Cooperation among Member States, which was adopted at the Tenth Session of the COMCEC in 1994 and subsequently endorsed by the Seventh Islamic Summit, held in Casablanca, in December 1994. Fully aware of the importance of tourism in their development, the Member States have, for a long time now, realized the necessity of developing this sector and strengthening cooperation in this field. That is why the Islamic Conferences of Tourism Ministers have been held consecutively five times. I must express my thanks to the Member States which have organized the previous sessions of the ICTM. In this context, I would also like to convey my thanks and appreciation to the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan, particularly to H.E. Mr. Abulfas Qarayev, Minister of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Azerbaijan for his highly commendable role and valuable contribution as Chairman of the 5th ICTM., for the successful implementation of the decisions of the Fifth Session of the ICTM. Mr. Chairman, Honorable Delegates and Guests, The substantial growth of the international tourism activity is one of the most remarkable economic and social phenomena of the past century. According to the World Tourism Organization, in 2007, international tourist arrivals grew by an estimated 6% to reach a new record figure of nearly 900 million – an astonishing achievement given that the 800 million mark was only reached two years earlier. The revenues generated by those tourists, i.e. international tourism receipts, amounted to 741 billion US$ in 2006, corresponding to almost 2 billion US$ per day or 876 US$ per tourist arrival. International tourism receipts grew by 11% per annum during the period 1950-2006, a rate, which significantly exceeds that of the world economy as a whole during the same period, and makes international tourism one of the largest categories of international trade. The number of international tourist arrivals in the OIC countries, for which the data are available, increased from 34 million in 1990 to 102 million in 2006, corresponding to an average annual growth rate of 7.1%. This rate was higher than the world average and the averages of the traditional tourist-receiving regions of Europe and the Americas during the same period. However, the relative share of the OIC countries in the world tourism market accounted for only 12% in 2006, the highest share so far recorded, corresponding to an increase by 4.2 percentage points over their share in 1990. Moreover, at the individual country level, it is observed that international tourist arrivals in the OIC region are still concentrated in few countries. In descending order, Turkey, Malaysia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Tunisia, Indonesia, Bahrain, Syria and Kazakhstan are found to be the main OIC international tourist destinations. Considering their rich and diverse natural, geographic, historical and cultural heritage assets, the OIC countries, as a group, have in fact a high potential for the development of a sustainable international tourism sector. However, considering the modest share of the OIC region in the world tourism market and the concentration of the tourism activity in only a few OIC countries, it seems that a large part of the tourism potential of the OIC region remained unutilized where the desirable levels of tourism development in many OIC countries, and in the OIC region as a whole, have not yet been achieved. The problems facing tourism and the development of a sustainable international tourism sector in the OIC countries are diverse as each country has its own tourist features, level of development and national development priorities and policies. Overall, this necessitates the implementation of coherent long-term strategies as well as medium to short-term plans and programmes at the national level that would be accompanied by a process of creating a supportive OIC cooperation environment at the regional level. In this regard, I would like to mention that the Second OIC Experts Group Meeting on Tourism Development, held in Istanbul, Turkey, on 9-11 May 2007, adopted a Strategic Plan for Development of Tourism in the OIC Member States. This Strategic Plan is on the Agenda of our today’s 6th Session of the ICTM. I hope that the adoption and implementation of this Strategic Plan will contribute to intra-OIC Tourism and will achieve positive results in this sector. Mr. Chairman, Honorable Delegates and Guests, The OIC General Secretariat and OIC institutions have deployed major efforts in order to ensure the implementation of the relevant resolutions of the ICTM. Thus, the Islamic University of Technology (IUT), in collaboration with the Republic of Azerbaijan, as Chairman of the 5th ICTM, organized the Seminar on Development of E-Tourism Technology in Islamic Countries, held at the IUT headquarters in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on 1-3 April 2008. Moreover, I would also like to thank to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for hosting and organizing the International Conference on Tourism and Traditional Crafts in Islamic Countries and associated activities, held in Riyadh, from 7 to 14 November 2006, in collaboration with the Research Center for Islamic History, Arts and Culture (IRCICA), and the First Tourism Forum, held in Riyadh, on 30 October - 1 November 2007, in collaboration with the ICCI. I would also like to thank to the Republic of Azerbaijan for hosting and organizing several OIC events in the field of tourism, such as: the International Scientific Conference on “Role of Tourism in the Economies of OIC Countries” held in Baku, on 21-22 June 2007, the OIC Forum for Silk Road Tour Operators, held in Baku, on 14-15 April 2008 and the OIC Conference on “Religious and Health Tourism: Organization of Spiritual and Physical Recreation”, held in Nakhchevan, on 20-22 May 2008. I would also like to mention that Tourism and Trade Fairs and exhibitions constitute one of the major tools aiming at promoting intra-OIC trade and investment and they are among the most effective means for trade development. They also increase the attractiveness of the host countries as an international marketplace for investment, ideas and market intelligence. In this regard, being aware of their importance the 18th Session of the COMCEC held in Istanbul, in October 2002, the ICDT was requested to organize Tourism Fairs for the Islamic Countries on biannual basis. Therefore, the ICDT in collaboration with the Government of Turkey successfully organized the First Tourism Fair of the OIC Member States, in Istanbul, in November 2005. The first edition was attended by 15 OIC Member States and by about 350 operators representing the different services linked to tourism. In this context, I would like to appreciate the offers of the Republic of Lebanon, the Arab Republic of Egypt, Syrian Arab Republic and Islamic Republic of Iran to host the Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth Tourism Fairs in 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2014, respectively, and call all Member States actively participate at these tourism fairs. Moreover, I am happy to note that the feasibility study of the project on “Sustainable Tourism Development in a Network of Cross-Border Parks and Protected Areas in West Africa” which involves nine OIC Member States is financed by the UNWTO, the Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and the ST-EP Foundation. In this regard I would like to thank the ICDT for its support to this project. I appeal to the OIC Member States and concerned OIC institutions to lend their material support to this regional project for further implementation. Mr. Chairman, Honorable Delegates and Guests, I am confident that this much-awaited Conference will provide a significant contribution to strengthen economic and commercial cooperation among the OIC Member States generally and in the domain of tourism, particularly. Critical momentum can be gained in achieving these objectives by encouraging the development of intra-OIC tourism and prioritizing joint regional tourism projects within the framework and spirit of the Makkah Summit and the OIC Ten-year Programme of Action to Face the Challenges of the Twenty-first Century. This will stimulate the flow of tourism across OIC countries. This will need an integrated approach, including improving transport services and facilitating visa formalities. Let me invite Muslims to develop intra-OIC tourism in a new dimension so that we will know more, understand more, and love more our beautiful Muslim world, which our poets have been celebrating and glorifying for millennia. Mr. Chairman, Honorable Delegates and Guests, During the last two days, senior officials and experts representing the OIC Member States and institutions have examined ways and means to strengthen and promote the development of tourism in our Member States and to facilitate the cooperation of our countries in this domain. I am confident that the pertinent recommendations they have proposed will be the subject of a comprehensive examination by your Conference. I hope that this conference will adopt dynamic decisions that are apt to strengthen cooperation among the OIC Member States in the field of tourism development. Before concluding this statement, let me reassure you that the OIC will spare no effort in ensuring the implementation of your decisions and recommendations. I wish you total success in your deliberations. I thank you for your kind attention.
