Restore the sparkle to the Mediterranean Tourism

The International Conference on Destination Management has been organized by the world tourism organization in collaboration with the Tunisian National Tourism Office in Djerba in April, 16th and 17th. the workshop was about “the future of tourism in the Mediterranean” with the presence of the Prime Minister Mr. Hamadi Jebali and the tourism minister Mr. Elyes Fakhfakh the general secretary of the World Tourism Organization, the Algerian Minister of Tourism, the Turkish Minister of Culture and Tourism, the General Secretary of the Arab Tourism Organization and General Director of the Tunisian National Tourism Office in addition to the delegation of 33 countries , experts, professionals and institutions.

With a unique combination of pleasant climate, beautiful coastline, rich history and diverse culture the Mediterranean region is the most popular tourist destination in the world attracting approximately one third of the world's international tourists and According to forecast by the World Tourism Organization, arrivals in the Mediterranean are expected to reach 500 million tourists in 2030.Tourism is one of the most important sources of income for many Mediterranean countries. It also supports small communities in coastal areas and islands by providing alternative sources of income far from urban centers. However, tourism has also played major role in the degradation of the coastal and marine environment. Rapid development has been encouraged by Mediterranean governments to support the large numbers of tourists visiting the region each year. But this has caused serious disturbance to marine habitats such as erosion and pollution in many places along the Mediterranean coasts. Tourism often concentrates in areas of high natural wealth, causing a serious threat to the habitats of endangered Mediterranean species such as sea turtles and monk seals.

Mr. Hamadi Jbali, has given the kick-off the workshop of the international then he has reviewed the steps by which the country has faced since the revolution, He also outlined the reforms initiated by his government thus focusing on the prominent place given in this strategy for tourism development in Tunisia. He has emphasized the commitment to support the sector with a high employment rate which its role consists of the coverage of balance of payments and economic dynamism, this sector which lives critical moments and some difficulties because of the instability in the region and the war in Libya.

Mr. Frederic Pierret, the Executive director of the World Tourism Organization has described the conference as successful regarding to the number of participants and considering the high level of experts presentations and discussions at the conference. Hailing the commitment expressed in Tunisia towards the development of tourism in the Mediterranean by the Tunisian government and especially Mr. Elyes Fakhfakh, Minister of Tourism, Mr. Pierret has said that this conference is a significant gesture on the part of all actors of the corporation toward Tunisia. It's not a coincidence, this stems from our deep solidarity with Tunisia to continue to occupy a prominent place because Tunisia is a great destination

 The international conference has ended by the declaration of setting a roadmap for the Mediterranean destinations to develop new strategies and a tourism policy in order to get a shared vision for the tourism in the region. And all countries participated in the conference insist on unifying their efforts under a cooperation in order to maintain and develop the market share of the Mediterranean regions in the international level. The participants also had called the entire training centers to cooperate in developing the sector especially in the training standards of the tourism at a professional level in what concerning the field of quality of tourist services, sustainability and particularly in terms of coastal urbanization, the development of cruise business and the level of exchange of best practices, particularly in attracting, investment, technical infrastructure financing and issuing visas.

-Yassër Ben Hmouda-

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