Speech Of H.E. Prof. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, Secretary General Of The Organization Of The Islamic Conference, At The Opening Ceremony Of The Seventh Session Of The Islamic Conference Of Tourism Ministers

Date: 30/11/2010

Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran 28-30 November 2010 Bismillahi Arrahmani Arrahim In the Name of God, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful H.E. Mr. Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, Senior advisor to the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, H.E. Mr. Hamid Baghaei Vice President and Head of Iran Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization, Excellencies, the Ministers and Heads of Delegations, Representing the OIC Member and Observer States, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, It is indeed a great pleasure and honour for me to address this Seventh Session of the Conference of Tourism Ministers of the Member States of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, which is holding at this historical and magnificent city of Tehran, in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Let me express at the outset my sincere gratitude to H.E. Dr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran and his esteemed Government for their generous initiative by hosting this Conference at this momentous time, when the issue of tourism development is on top of the agenda of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference. Permit me, in the like manner, to put on record my appreciation to the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic, through H. E. Dr. Saad Alah Agha Al-Kalaa, Minister of Tourism of the Syrian Arab Republic, in its capacity as Chairman of the 6th Session of the ICTM, for the unremitting support for the OIC tourism process and for the successful follow-up of the decisions of the last Ministerial Conference on Tourism. This session is very significant, since it is scheduled to consolidate on the gains realised at the Sixth Session of the ICTM. The last Ministerial Conference adopted far-reaching decisions, including the Framework for Development and Cooperation in the Domain of Tourism between OIC Member States (2008-2018). The implementation of this action plan has since commenced with the convening of two coordination meetings, in March 2009 and March 2010, respectively. It has also led to the adoption of both the Short Term Plan and Program for the implementation of the Framework document. In concrete terms, appreciable progress has been made in the implementation of the project on Sustainable Tourism Development in a Network of Cross-Border Parks and Protected Areas in West Africa, through the funding support of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO). However, the post-feasibility funding arrangements are underway with the imminent donor’s conference under the high patronage of the OIC Chairman, President Abdoulaye Wade of the Republic of Senegal. Mr. Chairman, Honourable Ministers Distinguished Delegates, Tourism has emerged as one of the most important mechanisms for achieving poverty alleviation in OIC countries. This understanding is in accordance with the objectives of the Ten Year Programme of Action, which has been in operation since December 2005, following its adoption by the Third OIC Extra-Ordinary Summit of Makkah El-Mukaramah. The development of the tourism sector is a laudable initiative that seeks to focus on the integration of previously marginalised populations into productive activity, while promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment. More importantly, this process aims at achieving the integration of indigenous people into the mainstream of economic development. The other credible means of poverty reduction are the expansion of intra-OIC trade and the promotion of agricultural and rural development and food security. Accordingly, the development of tourism assists greatly in the process of wealth creation and employment generation, considering the fact that it supports the operations of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), which constitute the bulk of the corporate entities in OIC countries. It is therefore true that developing tourism will aim at promoting traditional industries, such as handicrafts, the deepening of cultural interaction among citizens of the OIC member states, and the promotion of the Islamic cultural heritage, among others. Statistically, OIC international tourism arrivals in 2009 reached 130.5 million, as compared to the world total international arrivals of 880 million in the same year. The total revenue accruable to OIC countries is estimated at US$102.8 billion, as against the total world tourism receipts of US$852 billion in 2009. I am happy to note that OIC Member States have recorded steady increase in the number of international tourist arrivals, which stood at 118.5 million in 2005. Similarly intra-OIC tourist arrivals have increased from 39.4 million in 2005 to 42.1 million in 2006 and 50.2 million in 2007. It has been correctly argued that, if the OIC community wishes to improve the standard of livelihood of its peoples, its share of the world revenue should be commensurate with the fact that OIC demographic strength equals one quarter of the entire world population. In this regard, there is the need to scale up infrastructure development in the tourism sector, while deliberate efforts must be put in place to increase intra-OIC tourism exchanges beyond the present 10.9% of the world tourism. Mr. Chairman Honourable Ministers Distinguished Delegates I am glad to recall that since the adoption of the target within the OIC Ten Year Programme of Action, which calls for an increase in intra-OIC trade to the level of 20% in 2015, the various trade promotion, trade facilitation and trade financing strategies have culminated in an increase in intra-OIC trade from 14.5% in 2004 to a recent figure of 16.6% in 2009. This is not withstanding the slight setback engendered by the global financial meltdown, which reached its peak in 2008. Consequently, this Conference would need to vigorously address the existing framework for increased cooperation among OIC countries in the area of tourism services, so that the level of intra-OIC tourism exchange can contribute to the realization of the target set for intra-OIC trade both for merchandise trade and the invisible trade in tourism services. In addition to the existing project on the development of cross border parks in some OIC member states in West Africa, efforts would need to be directed towards developing capacity building projects with the assistance of those OIC countries, which are considered as biggest tourist destinations. It is instructive that about 81% of the total OIC tourism market is confined to 10 OIC countries, including Turkey, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Indonesia, Kuwait, Jordan and Kazakhstan. The capacities of other countries can be enhanced through development of traditional tourism services as well as the creation of new initiatives in tourism development. It is in this regard that I salute the initiative of the Government of Iran for staging the First Conference on Health Tourism in Mashhad on 2-4 November 2010. This initiative has the great potentials of stimulating the interest of visitors from OIC member states for the purpose of healthcare delivery and at the same time promoting tourism. The initiative would also enhance the role of the Private Sector in expanding and deepening the implementation of the OIC tourism action plan. On the cultural level, our attention would, of necessity, focus on the huge potentials available for cultural tourism in OIC countries. This emphasis would ensure that citizens of OIC member states are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the richness of the Islamic cultural heritage, while fostering brotherhood and unity among the diverse groups and segments of the Muslim population. In this regard, permit me to commend the copious work accomplished by the Research Centre for Islamic History, Arts and Culture (IRCICA), popularly known as the Istanbul Centre. Such recent activities as the Islamic Architectural Heritage Database and the Islamic Calligraphy Competition would go a long way in deepening socio-cultural interaction among OIC peoples, while promoting tourism and economic development. In scaling up our activities for increased cooperation on tourism, the current emphasis on multi-stakeholder partnership, which the OIC is adopting for the implementation of its numerous programmes and projects, is relevant in this connection. The problems facing tourism and the development of a sustainable international tourism sector in the OIC countries are diverseas each country has its own touristic features, level of development and national development priorities and policies. Overall, this necessitates the implementation of coherent long-term strategies as well as medium to short-term plans and programmes at the national level that would be accompanied by a process of creating a supportive OIC cooperation environment at the regional level. In the same vein, international partnership and closer cooperation with international development banks and institutions would help in surmounting the series of funding constraints, which have always plagued our efforts to consolidate the project-based approach to tourism development. Let me also, at this juncture, underscore the on-going demarches to mobilise the support of the national funding agencies in OIC countries. The various national funds can be sensitized towards giving due priority to those projects that are capable of fostering growth in the real sector of our respective economies. In the context of multilateral approach to implementation of the OIC framework document on tourism, I am happy to note the increasing cooperation among the various OIC institutions, such as the IDB, ISESCO, IRCICA, ICDT, SESRIC, IUT and ICCI. I also wish to seize this opportunity to enlist your support and cooperation during the forthcoming Donors’ Conference in Dakar on 27-29 May 2011, which is aimed at mobilizing the needed resources for the implementation of the project on conservation parks in West Africa. The active support of all OIC Member States, financial institutions, bilateral and multilateral development assistance bodies, enterprises and institutions of the private sector and concerned OIC institutions is crucial to the success of this important regional project. Mr. Chairman, Honourable Ministers Distinguished Delegates, During the last two days, our senior officials and institutions have examined ways and means to strengthen and promote the development of tourism in our Member States and to facilitate the cooperation of our countries in this domain. I am confident that the pertinent recommendations, which they have proposed will receive your kind consideration and approval. This will enhance our collective drive towards the speedy implementation of the various aspects of the tourism framework in the overall interest of our peoples. Before concluding this statement, let me reassure you that the OIC General Secretariat will spare no effort in contributing to the timely implementation of the recommendations, which will emanate from your deliberations. I thank you all. Wassalamu Alaikum Warahmatullah Wabarakatuh.

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