UNWTO secretary general, Taleb Rifai, has announced the United Arab Emirates has rejoined the organisation 26 years after leaving.
“The Middle East is without doubt one of the fastest growing tourism regions on the earth regardless of facing countless challenges; much of this dynamism have been led by the strong political commitment awarded to tourism within the region and the vision that tourism is a key pillar of development within the Middle East of which the UAE is an ideal example,” said Rifai.
“The UAE play a central role not just within the development of tourism within the region but additionally in linking the center East with other regions and we think that by working together we are going to enhance tourism within and to the Emirates in addition to increase regional cooperation,” he added.
The UAE and UNWTO will work on several initiatives including the measurement of the commercial impact of tourism, statistics and human resources development.
The Middle East is among the fastest growing tourism regions on the earth.
Between 1980 and 2010, international tourist arrivals within the Middle East rose from 7.1 million to 60.9 million, an ordinary annual increase of seven.4 per cent compared with an international average of four.2 per cent.
According to UNWTO’s long-term forecast, Tourism Towards 2030, this growth is decided to continue; in 2030 arrivals to the center East are expected to succeed in 149 million, a normal annual increase of four.6 per cent compared with a worldwide average of three.3 per cent.