Jordan Times
Friday, August 12, 2005
World's tourism experts
to meet in Amman
By Dalya Dajani
AMMAN — The world's leading tourism experts will
meet here next month to help guide the region on building their industry's image
and performance through the media.
The two-day Regional Conference on Tourism Communications (TOURCOM), which opens
on Sept. 20, will take a look at the best practices of leading tourism
destinations in reaching industry objectives and overcoming challenges.
Organised jointly by the Ministry of Tourism and the World Tourism Organisation
(WTO), the meeting will also review the regional industries' current management
practices in tourism communications.
The need for such an initiative was recommended at the WTO MENA Regional
Commission in Damascus in 2004.
While tourist travel to the region has improved since the Sept. 11 attacks on
the US and the war on Iraq, the potential growth of the tourism industry remains
stifled by prevailing fears and misconceptions about the troubled Middle East.
Participants at the Damascus meeting had highlighted the media's support to help
dispel such factors by promoting the region as a safe and attractive
destination.
The TOURCOM meeting will present the experiences and international trends of
top-notch tourism destinations and their working relationships with the media in
reaching that success.
Experts from Egypt, Qatar, Thailand, Tunisia, Spain, France and the United
Kingdom will be sharing the latest know-how in communications and promotional
campaigns, best practices and priorities as well as mistakes to avoid.
According to TOURCOM's provisional programme, a series of workshops will be held
on tourism-related issues such as the “Dos and Don'ts of Successful
Communication Practices,” and means on formulating efficient advertising
campaigns for international and local tourists.
The United Kingdom, Thailand and Egypt that have recently faced their own share
of terrorist attacks will present their experience on crisis communication and
travel advisories.
Other speakers at the meeting include the ministers of tourism of Jordan, Egypt
and Tunisia and a video or recorded message by Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis
Rodriguez Zapatero.
Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker will also be presenting his company's own
experiences in successful image building.
The TOURCOM meeting will be followed by the 27th WTO Commission for the Middle
East meeting on Sept. 22.
The WTO commission will be reviewing numerous tourism-related issues including
some of the more recent market trends and factors that have shaped the course of
tourism development.
The members will also be examining its draft programme between 2006-2007, the
proposal to develop a unified regional tourism Internet portal and
implementation of the Global Tourism Code of Ethics which was being formulated
over the past year.