The Secretary-General of the Union of Arab Chambers, Dr. Khaled Hanafi, noted the "importance of the flow of investments towards the tourism sector of people of determination." Considering that "investment in the development of knowledge and new ideas is a new and broad dimension to enable innovation in the travel and tourism sector," noting "the importance of developing human capital, especially youth and women."
The Secretary-General’s words came during the opening of the activities of the Dubai World Summit to Facilitate Tourism for People of Determination, which this year’s edition is witnessing a high-level presence at the Arab government level with the generous patronage of His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, CEO and Chairman of the Emirates Airline Group, and Chairman of Dubai World, sponsor of the World Expo for People of Determination.
Hanafi pointed out "one of the important characteristics of tourism is that it is one of the sectors that employ a high percentage of females and young people, and provides job opportunities in areas far from industrial and commercial centers, which contributes to the development of regions and promotes balanced development."
He said, “In general, tourism investments in Arab countries are still traditional in a large part, as we lack investment in medical and educational tourism. As well as exhibition and conference tourism, sports tourism of all kinds, desert and environmental tourism, and other areas that we do not pay enough attention to for reasons related to lack of expertise, lack of incentives, and weak marketing programs.”
He noted, "The private sector has a major role in tourism investment, and in making tourism smarter through innovation and digital transformation." Pointing out, "The strengthening of the role of the private sector requires an environment conducive to investing in tourism projects, and enhancing the sector's contribution to creating decent job opportunities, especially for young people, and to developing local communities, especially in light of the ongoing challenges facing the region."
The participants in the summit noted the need for concerted efforts to serve the people of determination and to benefit from their participation in the tourism sector. With their number around the world reaching about one billion people, amid expectations that this number will double by 2050, providing endless opportunities for the tourism sector, which has barely begun to recover from the consequences of the pandemic.
For his part, the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, affirmed, “The establishment of this important event that addresses the issue of easy tourism for people of determination comes at a time and after difficult years witnessed by the countries of the world as a result of the precautionary measures of the Corona pandemic. Along with, the accompanying closure of transportation and tourist attractions, which weakened the tourism movement and led to its decline in general, and negatively affected the tourism of people of determination in particular.”
Aboul Gheit stressed, “The Arab League attaches great priority to issues related to people with special needs, it puts it in an advanced place on the agenda of the joint Arab social and development work.”
The summit shed light on the challenges facing about one billion people, according to the statistics of the World Health Organization, while they are on the move as residents, visitors, or tourists in the cities of the world. As well as the need to strengthen legislation, laws, infrastructure, and services, that contribute to meeting their needs and aspirations and their right to discover the world easily.
In addition, the Secretary-General of the Union of Arab Chambers, Dr. Khaled Hanafi, signed, on the sidelines of the fourth session of the "People of Determination International Expo" at the Dubai World Trade Centre, a memorandum of cooperation with the "AIM Annual Investment Forum". In the presence of the Assistant Secretary-General of the League of Arab States and the Head of the Social Affairs Sector at the League, Ambassador Haifa Abu-Ghazaleh.
The memorandum aims to enhance cooperation between the “Union” and the “Annual Investment Forum” in terms of organizing events and conferences in the next phase, including the organization of the "International Investment Forum", with the aim of attracting foreign investments to the Arab region.
Source (Union of Arab Chambers)
