What a difference one decade can make ... or even half a decade. Local airlines in the Arab world were inaugurating flights and it seemed that only a short time later, they were actually reporting profitable load factors.
It appeared that carriers merely had to introduce a service and the punters would come running – or so they thought.
The worldwide economic recession has drastically changed this “happy” scenario. Airlines such as Etihad, Emirates, Gulf Air and Qatar Airways have to invest in innovative marketing to attract passengers to their home bases.
Fortunately it seems to be working in co-operation with the national governments, who are also investing in attractions such as the Formula One races in Abu Dhabi and Bahrain, the World Cup in Dubai and international golf competitions in the UAE and Qatar.
Of course, the whole thinking behind establishing a national airline is to improve the country’s revenues, tourism being a relatively newly-chosen course for the Gulf states.
Countries with a well established tourism industry such as Egypt, Morocco, Jordan and Tunisia have not rested on their respective laurels. Indeed, Egypt has had no real need to dream up attractions with its pyramids and Luxor and Karnak temples.
In 2008 Egypt received 11 million visitors generating revenues of $9.5 billion, which constitutes a hefty 11.3 per cent of the country’s GDP. This was a result of continuing marketing efforts.
Jordan too has many natural attractions, and when the rose-red Nabatean city of Petra was included in one of the Indiana Jones Hollywood blockbusters, the country made the most of this promotional opportunity – and why not?
Morocco and Tunisia are constantly depicted on the sides of London buses extolling the attractions of North African beaches. Libya has also begun attracting more than a trickle of visitors, the Sabratha and Leptis Magna sites being very popular. However, in order to attract more tourists, the country has to follow the example of the GCC states by making it easier to obtain visas and also enhancing the hotel infrastructure.
Algeria has recently taken a new look at its tourism plans and aims to have three million visitors per year by 2010. The Accor Hotels Group has reported that Algeria will need at least 22 mid-market hotels to accommodate the number of overseas travellers expected to visit the country.
Adventure travellers are finding their way deep into the Sahara to encounter the Blue Men, the Tuaregs. In Oman, cave diving has become the newest vogue. The massive Majlis Al Jinn is one of the largest underground chambers ever discovered. Oman’s treasures include the majestic Jebel Ahkdar Mountains and the monsoon-refreshed Dhofar region, serviced well by the newly revitalised Oman Air.
Dubai is a wonderful case in point for ‘How to succeed in business, when you do not have any oil’. The emirate’s tourism activities have revolved around desert safaris, dhow cruises, camel riding, sailing, shopping and skiing – on snow and sand.
In addition, looking at periods during the year, when tourism sometimes “falters”, Dubai has gone ahead with the start of construction of Dubai Exhibition City and Dubai Trade Centre District. The latter will build upon the natural commercial synergy already generated by the entrepot activities of the emirate, while the former will be part of a programme to attract the world’s largest and most prestigious events.
Sharjah, not to be left behind by its enterprising neighbour, has created an ‘Old Town’ of souks and museums, while Sharjah Central Market, with its hundreds of shops, remains a powerful attraction.
Fujairah has been promoting unique bull-wresting events as a new and special tourism attraction.
There are still many new/new and new/old potentials for tourism throughout the Arab World. If you have not yet visited the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria, put it on top of your “must see” list. This Roman-styled ruined city was once ruled by Queen Zenobia, whose archer horsemen beat the Romans and conquered the whole of Egypt before she was eventually captured by Emperor Aurelian.
He later freed her and gave her a villa, so she could end her life in queenly luxury. There was no hotel at Palmyra, when I first visited many years ago, but today Palmyra offers ample hotel accommodation.
The new/new attractions for visitors featuring architectural and engineering projects, draw interest from governments and other specialists from around the world. These include Dubai’s new multi-billion dollar Metro, the world’s tallest skyscraper Burj Dubai, the Palm Islands, The World and Dubailand. Meanwhile Abu Dhabi is planning the world’s first zero emission city, Masdar City, which will have a population of 50,000 and will be powered mostly by solar energy. Already environmentalists are heading towards the UAE to find out more about this new technology.
Qatar is keeping abreast of its GCC friends with Education City comprising elite universities and the Qatar Science and Technology Park with 21 world-class companies involved in scientific research and. development.
The Gulf countries offer superb beach vacations and five-star hotel accommodation, but some of the states have invested in the future for commercial purposes, which are also proving attractive for inbound destination travel operators, encouraged by the respective national carriers.
As the saying goes “When the going get’s tough, the tough get going” and this is why the Arab World’s tourism will survive and prosper for many years to come.
By Jonna Simon