Ministers of tourism and heads of tourism authorities from the GCC countries at the meeting in Kuwait.
Qatar has proposed that a unified GCC tourism promotion strategy be developed. The proposal was made at the First Constituent Meeting of the GCC Tourism Ministers, held in Kuwait on Tuesday.
The other GCC countries supported the proposal, which will be included in the common action programme that the ministers will discuss in the next ministerial meeting.
Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) participated in the meeting, held in response to an initiative by Prince Sultan bin Salman al-Saud, chairman of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities, who called for promoting common GCC tourism action through the formation of a specialised ministerial committee to develop the entire Gulf tourism industry.
He also called for discussing relevant common issues at the level of decision-makers with a view to advancing co-operation and accelerating projects and initiatives aimed at developing the Gulf tourism industry.
QTA was the first to support Prince al-Saud’s initiative following the GCC Ministerial Council’s unanimous approval of the establishment of a specialised ministerial committee comprising the Gulf tourism ministries and authorities. Kuwait was hosting the first constituent meeting of the committee.
The ministers of tourism and heads of tourism authorities in the GCC reviewed the recommendations and the draft agenda that the preparatory meeting, also held in Kuwait from October 11 to 13, had approved.
One of the main topics that the participants discussed was the report that the GCC General Secretariat prepared on common Gulf co-operation in the area of tourism over the past period. The participants decided to establish a mechanism to speed up execution of the approved projects and surmount all obstacles in the way of their speedy implementation.
The participants also discussed ways to activate inter-Gulf travel movement to strengthen the bonds among GCC citizens and boost the common heritage of the Gulf states.
The meeting laid the foundations for co-operation between official GCC tourism bodies and the private sector as this plays an important role in advancing the growth of tourism not only at the level of developing modern hospitality and entertainment projects but also at the level of investment in projects that develop cultural sites and antiquities.
During the meeting, the Bahraini Minister of Culture reviewed the charter on protection of urban heritage. The participating ministers of tourism and heads of tourism authorities in the GCC praised the efforts that are being made in this regard, where Saudi Arabia and Bahrain made much progress. They recommended that the report be referred to the GCC Co-operation Committee on Antiquities and Museums to benefit from it.
The meeting of the tourism ministers also discussed handicraft and traditional industries, stressing their importance as a tourism product.
QTA chairman Issa bin Mohamed al-Mohannadi said in a statement on the sidelines of the meeting, “The GCC tourism industry has grown to be one of the basic industries and an important contributor to national economies. The tourism sector made remarkable progress over the past few years, with the GCC states turning more attention to this
industry as an alternative source of income, a major generator of job opportunities for the coming generations, and a contributor to the sustainability of natural resources and human heritage.
“With the GCC tourism industry developing and occupying a preeminent position on the Gulf agenda, and with many countries competing to attract tourists, common Gulf tourism action had to be promoted to the level of decision-makers. This will help develop the industry and give a major impetus to collective Gulf projects and co-operation in the tourism sector.”
