CASE STUDY

Growth of Tourism in the Arab World

There are several potentials that make the growth of tourism in the Arab countries promising; for international tourism: being close enough to the inclusive tour markets of north-west Europe (the main generator of tourists), which have tourism-based mainly on sun, sea, and sand; extensive tourism infrastructure as good roads and airports of international standards; that is in addition to the considerable hotel development in major cities and coastal resorts; being in the crossroads between Europe, Africa and Asia, consequently forming good staging points for businesses on the long routes between Western Europe and the East Asia Pacific regions; the richness in cultural attractions (archaeological, historical and religious sites) since the region occupied the earliest civilizations and the three major world religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam); the favorable climate for beach tourism and the increase in resorts.

For intraregional tourism (tourism from Arab countries) an increase is expected due to: the close similarity in customs and traditions as well as a common language, the limited need for require heavy outlay on infrastructure as hotels since the majority of Arab tourists travel with their families and prefer accommodation in family housing and furnished flats; being enforced with the fact that family connections and intermarriage between nationals of different Arab countries create intraregional extended families; the ease in dealing with airports, hotels and shops because of the common language; variety in history, civilization, climate and temperature; the growth of new tourism trends as medical tourism between Arab countries (as in the case of Jordan, which hosts a number of visitors from Iraq, the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, the Syrian Arab Republic and Yemen), also educational tourism (the big numbers of Arab students studying at Arab universities especially after 11 September 2001).

Answer the following questions:

1. What are the reasons for the increase in intraregional tourism?
2. What factors make the growth of tourism in the Arab countries promising?