(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) The panel of the region's private and public sector leaders at the forum discussed a number of topics to be part of the strategy.
The UNWTO Ministerial Forum at Arabian Travel Market 2015 saw 20 Middle Eastern tourism ministers and private sector leaders agree the need for an intra-Arab tourism strategy to increase the number of tourists travelling between the countries of the region.
Shaikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan UAE Minister of Culture Youth and Community Development and Chairman of the National Council of Tourism and Antiquities opened the forum by calling for a collaborative tourism strategy to push forward intra-Arab tourism.
He referred to cooperation between Arab countries with regard to practices procedures and policies that cover religious historical and sustainable tourism to eliminate barriers improve ease of travel and using tourism to improve the standard of living for nationals.
The panel of the region’s private and public sector leaders at the forum discussed a number of topics to be part of the strategy including a GCC visa — similar to the European Schengen visa -- to allow easy cross-border access for both the region’s national and expatriate residents and an open skies agreement to increase air capacity between Arab nations.
Regarding a GCC-wide visa World Travel and Tourism Council president and chief executive officer David Scowsill recommended the expansion of automated and electronic visas in the region an idea endorsed by tourism ministers from within and outside the GCC.
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