Jordan hosts first Middle East Travel and Tourism Summit
Jordan is to host the first Middle East Travel and Tourism Summit later this month.
The event on February 26-27 is expected to attract 400 participants and 60 speakers discussing topics on regional tourism.
Twelve information panels will provide a forum for exploring the region’s potential in a number of key areas in travel and tourism, including infrastructure development, public/private partnership, security, foreign direct investment, and preservation of cultural heritage.
Speakers include Jordan’s tourism and antiquities minister H.E. Munir Nassar; Dr. Taleb Rifai, deputy secretary general of the World Tourism Organisation; Tom Nutley, chairman of Reed Travel Exhibitions; Lyndall De Marco, executive director of IBLF, HRH the Prince of Wales Trust; and Ali Kolaghassi, vice chairman and CEO of Saraya Jordan real estate company. Other speakers come from countries including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, the UAE, Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine, Egypt, plus the UK, Malta and Switzerland.
According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, regional demand in travel and tourism increased 9.1% in 2004, and a yearly real growth rate of 4.4% is forecast for the next 10 years. The region has seen a high level of investment in developing resorts, entertainment outlets, and cultural attractions, as well as other aspects of tourism infrastructure.
Jordan has produced a National Tourism Strategy that indicates a strong national commitment to developing the industry. Receipts from travel and tourism account for an expected 6.3% of the kingdom’s GDP in 2005.
Report by Phil Davies
Phil Davies
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