Engineer Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansoori, Minister of Economy, representing the United Arab Emirates, participated in the emergency virtual session of the Arab Ministerial Council for Tourism, which was called by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as the president of the current session (22) of the Council, to discuss ways to coordinate joint Arab efforts to counter the effects The negative of the Covid 19 pandemic on the tourism sector in the Arab countries.
The session, which was opened with the speech of Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, stressed the importance of Arab solidarity and joint Arab action in the current stage to address the negative consequences caused by the spread of a pandemic as a delegate 19 on tourism activities in the world, including the Arab countries, and to address the challenges resulting from the spread The epidemic.
A road map for returning to pre-Koved tourism levels 19.
Engineer Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansoori said in his speech during the session that joint Arab cooperation in the field of tourism and full coordination between Arab countries at this stage of the new Corona virus crisis is gaining great importance in finding the best ways and procedures that contribute In recovering the tourism movement in the Arab world and drawing a road map to return it to pre-coved levels 19, especially in view of the major negative effects of the epidemic on this vital sector, where it is expected that the total global tourism traffic by the end of 2020 will decrease by an estimated 57 - 78% (equivalent to 850 million - 1.1 billion tourists), in addition to losing about 120 million jobs, according to estimates by the World Tourism Organization.
Joint mechanisms to ease travel restrictions temporarily in the context of developments in the health situation
In the same context, he added: "For the first time in decades, we are witnessing such a complete or partial closure of borders in all countries of the world, the almost complete cessation of flight, restricting the movement of hundreds of millions of people and preventing them from leading their normal lives, including tourism and travel. So we hope that they will contribute. Our session today is in promoting joint Arab action to overcome the repercussions of this crisis, planning together to support the tourism sector in our Arab countries, and considering finding a joint mechanism to ease travel restrictions in a phased manner in the context of developments in the health status of each country.
The situation of inter-Arab tourism as a priority paves the way for the complete restoration of the tourism movement
He stressed the importance of Arab coordination on promoting intra-Arab tourism, saying: "The measures that our countries take today will determine the speed of recovery for the tourism sector. There is no doubt that all of us are currently working on plans for the recovery of the tourism sector during the next stage, and we emphasize, when developing these plans, The importance of coordination between Arab countries through the General Secretariat to ensure the speedy recovery of inter-Arab tourism and place it as a priority within recovery plans. We all realize that domestic tourism and inter-tourism among the countries of the region are the first stage of the stages of full restoration of the tourist movement.
Approved and unified health and safety measures to restore visitor confidence
. His Excellency the Minister of Economy stressed the importance of working jointly between the institutions responsible for tourism and travel in the Arab countries to restore visitor confidence through adopting internationally approved health and safety measures to ensure a safe environment in the sector, stressing that the adoption of unified procedures and standards Among Arab countries, it will have a very positive impact on the speed of easing travel restrictions and restoring tourist traffic.
National initiatives to support the restoration of tourism activity and receiving visitors,
Minister Al-Mansouri reviewed the most important efforts and initiatives currently being implemented by the UAE to start to restore tourism activity in a phased manner, the most prominent of which are: Launching programs to sterilize and disinfect tourism facilities and facilities; To issue guidelines for precautionary measures and health and safety standards for the country’s tourism sector in preparation for receiving visitors in light of the reduced spread of the virus; Opening hotels and tourist activities, and gradually restoring economic movement in accordance with precautionary measures and health and safety standards related to beaches, swimming pools, restaurants, hotel services, and others.
Harmonizing the procedures followed in the country with international standards and
affirming the support of the UAE to the efforts of the World Tourism Organization and the Arab Tourism Organization, as well as the World Tourism and Travel Council regarding recovery plans and procedures, as well as health and safety procedures, which were a key reference in all the initiatives that the country has worked on.
Huge economic stimulus packages and initiatives to support the sector and push it towards recovery.
He also highlighted the national efforts made in the UAE to reduce the effects of the crisis on the tourism sector and push it towards recovery, by allocating an appropriate share of the huge economic support and stimulus packages announced by the state, and the total amount until Today, 282.5 billion dirhams, which will contribute to providing financial liquidity, especially for small, medium and micro-enterprises operating in the field of tourism activities and services related to the sector, in addition to supporting workers in the tourism sector
Preserving and preserving them, and launching initiatives to alleviate the burdens of the sector, such as exempting or reducing licensing fees, and reducing electricity and water consumption bills, tourism and municipal fees, among others.
Maintenance of the tourism environment and plans to develop the tourism system in the future and
in the field of future planning to enable the recovery and growth stage. His Excellency Minister Al Mansouri said: “The concerned authorities in the state have been keen over the past months to maintain the national tourism environment, and the crisis did not prevent us from continuing with the plans to develop the tourism system, soon we will launch A new national strategy for tourism development, and we are also working on developing plans for the recovery of the tourism sector at all levels, and studying a number of initiatives that will support the tourism sector during the recovery and post-recovery phase and restore growth.