UAE rejoins UN tourism agency after 26 years

Dubai: The UAE, which is yet to create a federal tourism ministry, rejoined the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) on Tuesday, 26 years after it had left the entity.

Announcing the decision, Dr Taleb Refai, UNWTO Secretary-General, told delegates at the UNWTO Ministerial Forum: “The UAE plays a central role not only in the development of tourism in the region, but also in linking the Middle East with other regions. We expect that by working together, we will enhance tourism within and to the emirates as well as increase regional cooperation.”

UAE has a vibrant tourism industry that is a major driver of the economy. Despite the country’s success in tourism, the sector’s development was spearheaded by individual emirates — by their respective tourism regulatory bodies. A comprehensive, country-wide statistical database for the UAE is currently in the making.

In 2009, the UAE established the National Council of Tourism and Antiquities (NCTA) at the federal level to represent the country at international forums and to better coordinate the sector’s overall growth and development. This has helped the UAE rejoin the UNWTO which primarily deals with national tourism authorities.

Welcoming the development, Mohammad Khamis Bin Hareb Al Muhairi, director-general of the UAE National Council of Tourism and Antiquities, said: “This will help us to play a greater role in the global tourism industry and share our success story. This is good news for all of us,” he told Gulf News.

The NCTA’s role is to consolidate efforts of tourism authorities in the UAE and co-ordinate efforts to preserve and maintain UAE’s antiquities through unified external representation and co-operation with international organisations, governmental and non-governmental.

UNWTO’s membership includes 155 countries, six Associate Members and over 400 Affiliate Members representing the private sector, educational institutions, tourism associations and local tourism authorities.

The UAE and the UNWTO will work on several tourism initiatives, including the measurement of the economic impact of tourism, statistics and human resources development.

Dr Refai said: “The Middle East is one of the fastest growing tourism regions in the world in spite of facing countless challenges; much of this dynamism has been led by the strong political commitment awarded to tourism in the region and the vision that tourism is a key pillar of development in the Middle East, of which the UAE is a perfect example.”

Contribution to GDP

The tourism sector contributes 14 per cent of the UAE’s gross domestic product (GDP), Reem Ebrahim Al Hashemi, UAE Minister of State, said.

“Tourism accounts for 14 per cent of our GDP, which is well above the global average of 9 per cent,” she said at the UNWTO Ministerial Forum. “Dubai is the most connected city in the world, connecting a third of the world’s population, according to the International Air Transportation Association. It connects 220 cities across the world and its airport is set to handle 66 million passengers this year.”

Mohammad Khamis Bin Hareb Al Muhairi, Director-General of the UAE National Council of Tourism and Antiquities, said: “The UAE’s hotels hosted 14.5 million guests last year, with hotel revenues reaching Dh21 billion, reflecting the industry’s success.”