(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) chairman Issa bin Mohammed al-Mohannadi stressed the importance of strengthening co-operation between national airlines and tourism authorities to drive growth.
"Despite it being well-established that the tourism and aviation sectors depend on one another to grow, rarely does this translate into clear and transparent policies that join tourism and aviation efforts," al-Mohannadi noted.
He was speaking at the United Nations World Tourism Organisation/International Civil Aviation Organisation (UNWTO/ICAO) high-level forum on tourism and air transport for development.
The forum, taking place until September 17 as part of the 21st UNWTO General Assembly in Medellin, Colombia, explored ways to strengthen the common path and co-operation of aviation and tourism.
In his remarks, al-Mohannadi said: "In Qatar, we take a macro view of the joint sectors of tourism and aviation and work closely with our partners at Qatar Airways (QA) to ensure that we support each other's
development."
"This comes from a recognition of the strengths and weaknesses of each sector and from forging a clear path to meaningful co-operation to help each other flourish," he added.
The discussion was moderated by CNN's Richard Quest and saw participation from ICAO secretary general Dr Fang Liu and UNWTO secretary general Dr Taleb Rifai, who urged aviation and tourism authorities to move beyond the issuance of statements and to begin implementing national, regional and global policies that promote the growth, not hindrance, of these sectors.
"I call on the tourism ministers and delegates from over 115 countries here with us today, to recognise the fundamental dependency between air transport and tourism, and to work with your colleagues in government and the private sector to enable their mutual growth," the Rifai said.
"There can be no doubt that travel and tourism generate growth, jobs and investment, and as we head towards the milestone of 2bn international travellers by 2030, we must work hand-in-hand to ensure we achieve this objective," he pointed out.
The connectivity brought by air transport is at the heart of global tourism development, especially as more than half of international tourists € amounting to 1.1bn in 2014 € arrived to their destinations by air.
Based on ICAO's latest forecasts, aircraft departures are expected to almost double from 33mn in 2015 to 60mn by 2030.
Qatar's aviation sector has fast-tracked its development in recent years to help it tap into this substantially growing market.
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