OIC Member Countries Discussed A Draft Strategic Plan for Tourism Development

The Republic of Turkey hosted and organized the 2nd Experts Group Meeting on Tourism Development in Istanbul on 9-11 May 2007 with the participant of 24 member countries, the General Secretariat of the OIC, COMCEC Coordination Office, SESRTCIC, ICDT, IRCICA, IUT, ISESCO and ICYF. The participants discussed and accepted the “Draft Strategic Plan for Tourism Development in the OIC Member States”, which has been proposed by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Turkey.

 The Plan identifies certain means and modalities of implementation of the “Programme of Action” specified under the “Tourism” area of the Plan of Action to Strengthen Economic and Commercial Cooperation among Member States of the OIC. The Strategic Plan will be submitted to the 23rd Session of the COMCEC, which will be held in Istanbul in November 2007, for consideration by the OIC Ministries of Economic and Trade, and then for the 6th for Islamic Conference of Ministers of Tourism, which will be held in Damascus, Syria in 2008 for approval. Mr. Nabil Dabour, Senior Researcher, represented the Centre at the Meeting and presented a paper titled ““International Tourism in the OIC Countries: Prospects and Challenges”.

The presentation made by SESRTCIC is available below :

““International Tourism in the OIC Countries: Prospects and Challenges”

At the Opening Session, Mr. Elchin Gafarli, Head of the Senegal Delegation, delivered an opening statement as the Chairman of the 5th Islamic Conference of Ministers of Tourism.

The representative of the OIC General Secretariat, H.E. Amb. Nabika Diallo, delivered a message from H.E. Prof. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, Secretary General of the OIC in which he thanked the Government of the Republic of Turkey for hosting and organising this meeting with the aim of discussing the Strategic Plan for Tourism Development in OIC Member States.

Mr. Mustafa Buyuk, Deputy Undersecretary of the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism delivered an opening statement in which he welcomed the participants and emphasised the importance of preparing the Draft Strategic Plan fro Tourism Development by the Republic of Turkey as a very successful document with specific strategic targets and programmes of action to be implemented for the benefit of the member countries.

The Bureau of the Meeting was then elected with the Chairmanship of the Republic of Turkey, Vice-Chairman of Senegal, Egypt and Palestine and Azerbaijan as Rapporteur.

After adopting the agenda and the work programme of the Meeting, The representative of Malaysia (focal point for tourism marketing) reported to the Meeting on the activities related to tourism marketing in the OIC countries. Similarly, the representatives of Indonesia and the Islamic Republic of Iran reported to the Meeting on the activities related to tourism facilitation and tourism research and training in the OIC countries, respectively as focal points of these two areas.

Background reports and papers on tourism in the OIC countries were presented by the representatives of the OIC General Secretariat and those of the following subsidiary, specialised and affiliated institutions of the OIC: SESRTCIC, ICDT, IRCICA, IUT, ISESCO and ICYF.

Following these presentations, the Meeting started to discuss the Turkish Government proposal of “Draft Strategic Plan for Tourism Development in the OIC Member States”. After having a general debate and discussion on the different items of the Plan, the participants accepted the said document, which mainly identifies certain means and modalities of implementation of the “Programme of Action” specified under the “Tourism” area of the Plan of Action to Strengthen Economic and Commercial Cooperation among Member States of the OIC.

The Strategic Plan will be submitted to the 23rd Session of the COMCEC, which will be held in Istanbul in November 2007, for consideration by the OIC Ministries of Economic and Trade, and then for the 6th for Islamic Conference of Ministers of Tourism, which will be held in Damascus, Syria in 2008 for approval and adoption.