DOHA: Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) recently attended the fourth joint meeting of the Committee on Tourism Cooperation (CTC) and Gulf Tourism Committee (GTC) and the 12th meeting of the Gulf Tourism Cooperation Committee (GTCC).
Held in Riyadh, the fourth meeting of the GTCC and the GTC stressed the importance of employing GCC nationals in the private sector, and the need to learn from the successful experiences of other GCC countries, especially Oman’s experience in encouraging nationals’ engagement in the private sector.
The meeting also thanked Oman’s Ministry of Tourism for inviting GCC members to participate in the upcoming tourism industry seminar and the Saudi General Commission for Tourism and Antiquities for inviting member states to participate in the educational tourism workshop to be held early next year.
The meeting emphasised that all member states should submit their studies on tourism to the General Secretariat to be distributed to all member states, and highlighted the General Secretariat’s report on the establishment of a database for tourism statistics. It encouraged all responsible parties in charge of tourism in GCC countries to cooperate with statistical agencies to complete the productivity tables prepared by the General Secretariat.
The meeting also raised the subject of issuing tourist visas for Interior Ministers of GCC countries, in the hope of finalising this issue before Expo 2020 and the World Cup 2022. The concept of tourism media was included in the Gulf Press Association’s agenda urging responsible parties to allocate a communications officer to deliver information to the press.
At the 12th GTCC meeting members were briefed on Qatar’s proposal to re-consider updating the courses required from member states. Qatar was assigned to coordinate with the World Tourism Organisation (WTO) on the accreditation of the previously required courses and the new courses to start next year.
The committees have agreed on the importance of developing tourist destinations, and have acknowledged Bahrain for hosting representatives of government agencies. The committees have also advised the General Secretariat to adopt Bahrain’s approach which focuses on the effective methods for preserving architectural heritage and antiquities, funding these projects, and activating the role of the private sector. The meeting reviewed the European Union’s response which states that collaboration must be bilateral or direct with entities responsible for promoting tourism. Cooperation with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), Turkey, Morocco and Jordan was also discussed.
“Qatar Tourism Authority had the honour of meeting with representatives from the tourism sectors in the GCC countries, and strengthen collaboration between these countries which guarantees best results. These meetings fall within the framework of continuous coordination between GCC countries in all fields, and we have emphasised the need to position the tourism sector as a key player in supporting the region’s economy, because of its importance and the value it will bring to everyone,” said QTA Chairman Issa bin Mohammed Al Mohannadi.
The meetings recommended that all GCC states participate in all events and meetings recognised by the GTC, taking into account that decisions made by the GTC do not oppose the decisions issued by the WTO. The committees also reviewed the proposal of H H Prince Sultan bin Salman, Chairman of the Saudi General Authority for Tourism and Antiquities, to upgrade the status of the tourism Committee into a ministerial committee.
The Peninsula
