106

3. INTERNATIONAL TOURISM IN THE OIC COUNTRIES In the light of the above overview of the trends in world international tourism, this section attempts to assess the performance and economic role of the international tourism sector in the OIC countries. In particular, the trends in the two traditionally used indicators in measuring international tourism, i.e. International Tourist Arrivals and International Tourism Receipts, are examined. The analysis is made at the individual country level as well as the OIC regional and subregional levels. 3.1. International Tourist Arrivals The number of international tourist arrivals in the OIC countries, for which the data are available, increased from 35.4 million in 1990 to 67.7
3

World Tourism Organisation, WTO World Tourism Barometer, Vol. 3, No. 1, January 2005.

International Tourism in the OIC Countries: Prospects and Challenges 109

million in 2000, corresponding to an average annual growth rate of 6.7 percent. This rate was higher than the world average and the averages of the traditional tourist-receiving regions of Europe and the Americas during the same period. However, the relative share of the OIC countries in the world tourism market accounted for only 9.9 percent in 2000, an In 2001, 2.1 percentage points least affected amongst (Table 4). increase bythe OIC region was the over their share in 1990all other regions by the sudden slowdown of the world tourism activity. Indeed, the number of international tourist arrivals in the OIC countries increased by 7.7 percent in the said year where the 72.9 million arrivals surpassed the previous record year of 2000. Except for the OIC subregions of the Americas and the Middle East, which recorded the same levels of 2000, the other OIC destinations recorded increases in the number of tourist arrivals in 2001. The highest rate of growth was recorded in the OIC countries in the European and Central Asia region (14.2 percent) followed by those in the Asia/Pacific region (13.3 percent) and Africa (7.1 percent). Consequently, the relative share of the OIC region in the world tourism market accounted for 10.4 percent in 2001. In 2002, the number of international tourist arrivals in the OIC countries, for which the data are available, amounted to 81.2 million, corresponding to an increase by 11.4 percent over the previous year and an 11.8 percent share in the world tourism market. However, according to the data available on tourist arrivals in the OIC countries in 2003, it seems that international tourism in the OIC region was significantly affected by the negative factors of the war in Iraq, the SARS panic in Asia/Pacific and the world weak economic conditions. Though the data available do not allow for a sound comparison for the year 2003, it is to be expected that the growth rate of tourist arrivals in the OIC region in 2003 was lower than that in 2002. This could be observed in Table A.1 in the Annex where many countries, for which the data are available, recorded negative or lower growth rates in 2003 compared to those of 2002. In terms of the shares of the OIC sub-regions in the total OIC international tourism market, the OIC Middle East comes at the top in the three-year period of 2000-2002, followed by the OIC Asia/Pacific. In the said period, these two sub-regions together accounted for 61 percent

World Total OIC Total OIC Regions Africa Americas Asia/Pacific Europe & C. Asia Middle East Main Destinations Turkey Malaysia Tourist Arrivals (million) 1990 2000 2001 2002 2003 451 686684703691 35.4 67.772.981.277.6 Tourist Arrivals (million) 12.613.513.713.1 9.7 0.20.20.20.2 0.1 18.821.321.917 10.9 12.714.517.217.9 5.4 23.423.428.229.4 9.3 Tourist Arrivals (million) 10.211.413.113.8 10.212.813.310.6 6.66.77.57.3 5.4 3.94.15.45.9 7.4 5.14.34.95.7 2.2 5.15.45.15.1 1.0 4.34.44.54.8 2.4 5.15.25.04.5 3.2 2.42.83.23.0 4 1.41.32.92.8 2.2 1.4 54.358.464.963.5 0.6 29.8 Share in World Market (%) 1990 2000200120022003 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 7.89.910.411.811.2 Share in OIC Market (%) 27.418.618.516.916.9 0.30.30.30.20.3 30.827.829.227.021.9 15.318.819.921.223.1 26.334.632.134.737.9 Share in OIC Market (%) 15.214.715.116.118.1 20.814.716.916.313.9 6.29.79.29.29.4 2.85.65.46.67.8 6.87.55.96.07.3 9.07.47.16.36.7 11.26.26.05.56.3 6.27.46.96.15.9 3.93.53.73.93.9 1.72.01.73.63.6 83.878.878.079.683.0 Growth Rate (%) 90/00 00/01 01/02 -0.32.8 4.3 7.711.4 6.7 Growth Rate (%) 7.11.5 2.7 0.00.0 7.2 13.32.8 5.6 14.218.6 8.9 0.020.5 9.7 Growth Rate (%) 11.814.9 25.53.9 1.511.9 6.6 5.131.7 3.3 11.6 -15.714.0 14.6 5.9-5.6 2.32.3 7.8 2.0-3.8 4.8 16.714.3 0.7 -7.1123.1 8.8 7.611.1 5.5 8.8 6.2

02/03 -1.7 -4.4 -4.4 0.0 -22.4 4.1 4.3

5.3 -20.3 -2.7 9.3 16.3 0.0 6.7 -10.0 -6.3 -3.4 -2.2

Source: Extracted from Table A.1 in the Annex. Saudi Arabia Note: Due to rounding, the growth rates in this table slightly differ from those in Table A.1 in the Annex.
U.A.E Egypt Tunisia Morocco Indonesia Bahrain Syria Total

International Tourism in the OIC Countries: Prospects and Challenges 111

of the total tourist arrivals in the OIC region. In terms of the average growth rates of tourist arrivals during the 1990s, the OIC Middle East region recorded the highest rate of 9.7 percent, followed by the OIC Europe/Central Asia with 8.9 percent, the OIC Americas with 7.2 percent, the OIC Asia/Pacific with 5.6 percent and the OIC Africa with 2.7 percent (Table 4). At the individual country level, international tourist arrivals are still concentrated in a few countries. In descending order, Turkey, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, U.A.E., Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, Indonesia, Bahrain and Syria are found to be the main OIC international tourist destinations. Together, they hosted 63.5 million international tourists in 2003, corresponding to 83 percent share of the total OIC tourism market. During the period 1990-2000, tourist arrivals in those countries as a group grew, on average, by 6.2 percent. 3.2. International Tourism Receipts The figures in Table 5 show that, in absolute terms, the trends in international tourism receipts in the OIC individual countries and subregions followed, to a large extent, the trends in international tourist arrivals. In 2000, international tourism in the OIC countries, for which the data are available, generated US$ 37.6 billion compared to US$ 15 billion in 1990, corresponding to an average annual growth rate of 9.6 percent. This rate was higher than the world average and that of the other regions during the same period. Yet, the share of the OIC countries in the In 2001, the 72.9 million international tourists hosted by the OIC world countries generated US$ 42.5 billion as tourism receipts, total international tourism receipts accounted for only 7.9 percent in corresponding 2000, to increase by 2.3 percentage points over their sub-region of an an increase by 13 percent. Except for the OICshare in 1990. the Middle East, which recorded a decline of 2.4 percent, all the OIC destinations recorded increases in their international tourism receipts, the highest being by the OIC sub-region of Europe and Central Asia (30.6 percent). The share of the OIC region in the world international tourism receipts, therefore, slightly increased by 1.3 percentage points over the year 2000.

World Total OIC Total OIC Regions Africa Americas Asia/Pacific Europe & C. Asia Middle East Main Earners Turkey Malaysia Indonesia Tourism Receipts ($ billion) 1990 2000 2001 2002 2003 269475463480523 1537.642.544.243.1 Tourism Receipts ($ billion) 2.94.75.45.05.7 0.040.10.10.10.04 4.111.713.613.312.3 3.58.511.113.114.4 4.512.612.312.710.7 Tourism Receipts ($ billion) 3.27.610.111.913.2 1.756.97.16.0 2.15.75.44.34.0 1.14.33.83.84.6 1.93.33.43.4 1.322.52.33.2 0.91.71.81.51.6 0.10.50.91.41.8 0.31.01.11.31.4 0.31.11.21.01.1 12.932.237.138.036.9 Share in World Market (%) 1990 2000 20012002 2003 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 5.67.99.29.28.2 Share in OIC Market (%) 19.312.512.711.313.2 0.30.30.20.20.1 27.331.132.030.128.5 23.322.626.129.633.4 30.033.528.928.724.8 Share in OIC Market (%) 21.320.223.826.930.6 11.313.316.216.113.9 14.015.212.79.79.3 7.311.48.98.610.7 12.78.88.07.7 8.75.35.95.27.4 6.04.54.23.43.7 0.71.32.13.24.2 2.02.72.62.93.2 2.02.92.82.32.6 86.085.687.386.085.6 Growth Rate (%) 90/00 00/01 01/02 -2.53.7 5.9 13.04.0 9.6 Growth Rate (%) 14.9-7.4 4.9 0.00.0 9.6 16.2-2.2 11.1 30.618.0 9.3 -2.43.3 10.8 Growth Rate (%) 32.917.8 38.02.9 -5.3-20.4 9.0 11.4 -11.60.0 10.5 3.00.0 14.6 25.0-8.0 5.9-16.7 5.7 80.055.6 4.4 10.018.2 6.6 17.5 9.1-16.7 12.8 15.22.4 13.9 9.6 02/03 9.0 -2.5 14.0 -60.0 -7.5 9.9 -15.7

10.9 -15.5 -7.0 21.1 39.1 6.7 28.6 7.7 10.0 -2.9

Source: Extracted from Table A.2 in the Annex. Note: Due to rounding, the growth rates in this table slightly differ from those in Table A.2 in the Egypt Annex.
Saudi Arabia Morocco Tunisia Iran U.A.E Syria Total

International Tourism in the OIC Countries: Prospects and Challenges 113

In 2002, international tourism receipts in the OIC countries, for which the data are available, amounted to US$ 44.2 billion, corresponding to an increase by 4 percent over 2001 and a 9.2 percent share in the world total international tourism receipts. Though the data available for 2003 do not allow for a sound comparison, it is to be expected that the growth rate of those receipts was lower than that recorded in 2002. This could be observed in Table A.2 in the Annex where many of the countries for which the data are available recorded negative or lower growth rates in 2003 compared to those of 2002. While, in absolute terms, the trends in international tourism receipts were generally similar to those in international tourist arrivals, the shares of OIC sub-regions and individual countries in the total OIC international tourism receipts, as well as the average growth rates of those receipts, were somewhat different. This is due to the fact that receipts per arrival vary as each region or country has its own tourism characteristics in terms of length of stay, purpose of visit, geographical distance, types of shopping, etc. The OIC average tourism receipts per arrival in 2002 amounted to US$ 544. In the same year, the highest receipts per tourist arrival were recorded in the OIC sub-region of Europe/Central Asia (US$ 762) followed by the OIC Asia/Pacific (US$ 607), OIC Americas (US$ 500), OIC Middle East (US$ 450) and OIC Africa (US$ Middle East sub-region the data in Tables 4 and 5).of 33.5 The OIC 365) (calculated using recorded the largest share percent in the total OIC international tourism receipts in 2000. In 2001 and 2002, however, the OIC Asia/Pacific was at the top with 32 and 30.1 percent, respectively. In 2003, the OIC Europe/Central Asia claimed the first place with 33.4 percent. However, in terms of the average growth rate of international tourism receipts in the period 1990-2000, the order of the performance of the OIC sub-regions was as follows: the OIC Asia/Pacific (11.1 percent), the OIC Middle East (10.8 percent), the OIC Americas (9.6 percent), the OIC Europe/Central Asia (9.3 percent) and As is Africa (4.9 percent) (Table tourist arrivals, the figures in Table the OIC the case with international 5). 5 indicate that international tourism receipts of the OIC countries are also concentrated in a few of them, which are more or less the same countries that are the main OIC tourist destinations. In descending order, the main OIC international tourism earners are Turkey, Malaysia, Indonesia, Egypt,

Journal of Economic Cooperation

Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Tunisia, Iran, U.A.E. and Syria. This group of countries earned US$ 38 billion in 2002, corresponding to an 86 percent share in the OIC total. Their receipts during the period 1990-2000 grew, on average, by 9.6 percent per annum. 3.3. Balance of International Tourism

TABLE 6: TOP 10 OIC COUNTRIES WITH RESPECT TO THEIR BALANCE OF INTERNATIONAL TOURISM (US$ million)
1999 Turkey3732 Egypt2825 Malaysia1567 Morocco1491 Tunisia1588 Indonesia2357 Jordan440 Bahrain306 Maldives312 Syria401 Source: Table A.3 in the Annex. 2000 5925 3272 2487 1610 1419 1600 335 349 318.5 413 2001 8329 2668 3760 2140 1478 3048 280 380 324 480 2002 10021 2486 4167 1806 1263 1360 370 363 315 210 2003 11090 3257 2757 2692 1283 841 438 413 385

Table 6 displays the top 10 OIC countries in terms of their balance of international tourism in millions of US dollars. When compared with the countries in Tables 4 and 5 above, it becomes obvious that most of those countries constitute the main OIC international tourism destinations and earners. However, when the economic role of the international tourism sector in terms of its net contribution to the GNP is 4
For a clear definition of this term, see explanatory note (2) under Table A.2 in the Annex.

considered, the picture, as shown in Table 7, reflects a widely different situation. Table 7 lists the OIC countries, for which the relevant data are available, in descending order according to their balance of international tourism as an average percentage of their GNP in the 1999-2003 period. This average percentage is classified into 4 ranges, the highest of which includes records of 5 percent and above, and the lowest includes sub-zero records. The information in the table indicates that, in general, the economic role of the international tourism sector in the OIC countries is neither a function of the size nor of the level of affluence of the economy. International tourism is found to be the main economic activity in the Maldives, the only country with more than a 50 percent contribution of international tourism to the GNP. With 22.8 percent of the GNP, it also plays a significant role in the economy of Turkey as well. TABLE 7: BALANCE OF INTERNATIONAL TOURISM AS A
PERCENTAGE OF GNP (Average 1999-2003)
(%) Countries 5+ Maldives (55.7%), Turkey (22.8%), Tunisia (7%), Morocco (5%) 1 - 4.9 Bahrain (4.9%), Jordan (4.3%), Malaysia, Albania, Egypt, Benin, Senegal, Syria, Guyana, Indonesia, Mali (1.4%) 0.1 - 0.9Kyrgyz Rep. (0.9%), Niger, Togo, Uganda (0.3%) Guinea, Algeria, Sudan, Yemen, Suriname, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Sierra Leone, Iran, Bangladesh, Libya, Azerbaijan, Cte dIvoire,(-) - 0.0 Nigeria, Oman, Mozambique, Gabon, Palestine, Kuwait (-6.57) Source: Table A.4 in the Annex.

The information in Table 7 also indicates that the international tourism activity plays a relatively important role compared to the size of the economy in some OIC countries for which the balance of international tourism accounts, on average, for 1 to almost 7 percent of the GNP. This group includes most of the main tourism destination and earner countries (e.g. Tunisia, Morocco, Bahrain, Jordan, Malaysia, Syria, Egypt and Indonesia). In contrast, international tourism activity is found to have a negligible, or even negative, role in the economies of many OIC countries, for which the data are available, where 18 countries recorded, on average, a deficit in their balance of international tourism during the period 1999-2003 (Table A.4 in the Annex).

116

Journal of Economic Cooperation

However, the information in Table 8, which lists the OIC countries in descending order according to their international tourism receipts as a percentage of their exports, indicates that international tourism activity in those countries plays a more significant role as a source of foreign exchange earnings. During the period 1999-2003, the said activity generated, on average, foreign exchange earnings 4 times more than those generated by exports in the Maldives and almost 1.3 times the value of exports in Albania. In the same period, international tourism receipts accounted, on average, for 76.1 percent of the total exports of Egypt, 63.1 percent of those of Lebanon and 50.3 percent of those of Sierra Leone. Moreover, those receipts accounted for between 25 and 49.9 percent of the value of the exports of 6 countries, between 10 and 24.9 percent of that of 9 countries, and between 5 and 9.9 percent of that of 6 others. Yet, international TOURISM still playsAS limited role in TABLE 8: INTERNATIONAL tourism RECEIPTS a A generating foreign exchange earnings in 20 OIC countries, i.e. those in PERCENTAGE OF EXPORTS (Average 1999-2003) which its receipts accounted for less than 5 percent of their exports. (%) Countries
(63.1%), Sierra Leone (50.3%) Mali (41.8%), Jordan (41.4%), Comoros, Benin, Uganda, Morocco 25 49.9 (31%) Mozambique (21.1%), Syria (20.9%), Chad, Senegal, Turkey, 10 24.9 Tunisia, Niger, Burkina Faso, Guyana (11.3%) Indonesia (8.5%), Bahrain, Palestine, Malaysia, Kyrgyz Rep., 5 9.9 Kazakhstan (5.2%) Saudi Arabia (4.9%), Uzbekistan, Iran, Azerbaijan, Sudan, Guinea, Togo, U.A.E., Oman, Yemen, Suriname, Cte dIvoire, Nigeria, 0.1 - 4.9 Bangladesh, Pakistan, Libya, Kuwait, Algeria, Gabon, Tajikistan (0.2%) 4. TOURISM DEVELOPMENT AND INTRA-OIC Source: Table A.5 in the Annex. 50 Maldives (406.1%), Albania (128%), Egypt (76.1%), Lebanon
+

COOPERATION

4.1. Impediments of Tourism Development in the OIC Countries

International Tourism in the OIC Countries: Prospects and Challenges 117

Over the past decade, some OIC countries recorded strong growth in their international tourism receipts, which demonstrates the existence of a competitive advantage in their favour. In particular, the international tourism receipts of the OIC-LDCs almost doubled between 1990 and 2000.

For some least-developed countries, tourism development represents one of the few options to diversify the economy and substitute a declining traditional agriculture. In this context, a crucial contribution of tourism-generated foreign exchange revenues to the balance of payments has been observed in many OIC countries. Such revenues, particularly in the OIC-LDCs, reduce the countrys foreign debt and alleviate its dependence on a single export sector (in most cases, primary commodities with low and fluctuating international prices). It is, therefore, possible to argue that tourism can play a major role in improving the standards of living of people in those countries and help them lift themselves above the poverty threshold. This, indeed, was the conclusion of the 3rd UN Conference on the LDCs, held in Brussels in Given their significant and diverse natural, geographical, historical May cultural heritage assets, tourism countries have, infor poverty and 2001, which considered the OIC as an instrument fact, vast alleviation. the development of a sustainable international tourism potential for sector. However, considering their modest share in the world tourism

118

Journal of Economic Cooperation

market and the concentration of tourism activity in a small number of them, it seems that a large part of this inherent tourism potential remains unutilised. The desirable levels of tourism development in many OIC countries have indeed not been achieved yet. The potential of inherent natural tourism resources, albeit a crucial factor, cannot, unless properly planned and managed, lay by itself the basis of a successful tourism The impediments to the development of a sustainable international industry. tourism sector in the OIC countries are diverse. They relate to the particular tourism features of each country, its level of development and its national development policies and priorities. Yet, for the majority of countries, as the data in Table A.6 in the Annex indicate, these problems can be summarised, inter alia, as follows: Lack of technical know-how and weak promotional activity. Despite the fundamental awareness and basic cognizance of the economic importance of tourism as an industry and its positive impact as a potential source of foreign exchange earnings and employment, in many cases there is generally a lack of tourism knowledge and professionals. This is often accompanied by the absence or weak publicity promotion and mass media exposure due, in many cases, to the limited communication systems and technological services. Lack of tourism-related infrastructures. Many OIC countries lack the sufficient infrastructures necessary for the development of a sustainable tourism industry. Primary amongst these are hotels and lodging services, transportation and communication, and tourism information services. This makes it difficult to provide the international standards of facilities and services which tourists require. Lack of tourism investments. While investment in services is a wellestablished economic activity in the developed countries, it is still lagging behind in developing ones. Investment in service-oriented projects, particularly in tourism, is often regarded in most developing countries as a high-risk task. Accordingly, though they may have a natural tourism potential, it is very difficult for many poor and least-developed OIC countries to gain access to reasonable

International Tourism in the OIC Countries: Prospects and Challenges 119

financing for their tourism projects even when they manage to tackle the problems of project identification and planning. Lack of consistent tourism strategies and policies. In many OIC countries, there are still difficulties in reaching integrated tourism policies due in general to policy conflicts between the government departments and the tourism private agencies. This is coupled in many cases with the lack of effective administration, regulation and institutional frameworks of the tourism activity. Lack of tourism diversification. Modern international tourism activity has shown a growing tendency towards diversification and change. This makes it difficult for many OIC countries, including those with a relatively developed tourism sector, to keep pace with the rapidly changing and complex requirements of international tourists. In a highly competitive international tourism market, and considering the emergence of new tourism destinations, improving the conditions Lack that of tourism safety. The safety of tourists is a highly determinant foster modern tourism development is not an easy process. factor for any successful tourism industry and should, therefore, be one of the basic objectives of tourism planning and management. Safety-related tourism problems, whether real or perceived, exert a negative impact on the reputation of the host countries. In this regard, negative perceptions and political instability appear to play a detrimental role in the prospects of tourism in many OIC countries. Even such factors as rumours may cause great damage to In spite of these problems and the modest share of the OIC complete countries seasons. tourist in the world tourism market, there still exists a wide scope for the development of a sustainable international tourism industry in those countries. Overall, this necessitates the adoption of articulate longterm 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 co-operation environment at the regional level. In this context, a set of recommendations is proposed, in the next section, to serve as policy guidelines to which the attention of the member countries needs to be drawn.

Journal of Economic Cooperation

4.2. OIC Cooperation in the Field of Tourism The issue of tourism cooperation was first referred to during the 7th Islamic Summit, held in Casablanca in 1994, which stressed the importance of intra-Islamic cooperation in the field of tourism. The 23rd Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers (ICFM), held in Conakry in 1995, invited the Member States to cooperate in different areas in the field of tourism such as exchanging publicity and advertising materials and group travel, tourism investments and projects, the establishment of a data network and the electronic exchange of information on tourism, etc. While those areas of cooperation have been reiterated in all the resolutions adopted on tourism by the succeeding ICFMs, tourism has recently gained a greater importance on the agenda of the OIC which convened four ministerial conferences on this sector within the period 2000-2005. Tourism has also been identified as one of the ten priority areas of cooperation in the OIC Plan of Action to Strengthen Economic and Commercial Cooperation among its Member Countries5. As major objectives of cooperation in this area, the OIC Plan of Action seeks to promote, develop and expand tourism activities in the OIC countries through supporting and developing joint action at the bilateral and multilateral levels. It also aims to establish new facilities and activities in the member countries in order to attain globally competitive standards in terms of the quality of the services and the diversity of the tourism activities. In addition, the Plan encourages and promotes extensive private sector involvement in tourism through joint ventures in the area of improvement and enhancement of physical capacities and quality service. In order to achieve those broad objectives, the Plan identifies, in a general manner, some indicative activities under the heading Programmes of Action. Together with the above-mentioned objectives, the Programmes of Action serve as a source of a wide range of means and modalities to strengthen cooperation among the
5This

Plan was adopted at the 10th Session of the Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation (COMCEC) in October 1994 and subsequently endorsed by the 7th Islamic Summit, held in Casablanca in December 1994. The Summit also endorsed a Mechanism of Follow-up and Implementation as an integral part of the Plan.

International Tourism in the OIC Countries: Prospects and Challenges 121

member countries in this important field. They include the following broad actions: 1- Increasing public awareness in the OIC countries of the existing tourism resources and facilities. 2- Establishing direct contacts among the relevant parties concerned with tourism. 3- Creating the appropriate legal, institutional and administrative conditions in support of an expanded tourism activity among the member countries. 4- Encouraging and facilitating joint tourism ventures and other investments in the member countries by the private sector. 5- Encouraging and supporting the development of the necessary human capital in the area of tourism to ensure the availability of international standards. 5. CONCLUSION AND POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS The strong and sustainable expansion of the international tourism activity is one of the most remarkable socio-economic phenomena of our time. Tourism is now one of the worlds largest industries comprising all the socio-economic activities that are directly or indirectly involved in providing services to tourists. The revenues generated by the international tourism activity have grown by an average annual rate of 11 percent over the past five decades. This rate of growth far outstrips that of the world economy as a whole and makes tourism one of the largest categories of international trade. Although recent trends in international tourism indicate that the tourism activity is still concentrated in the developed regions of Europe and the Americas, a substantial proliferation of new tourism destinations is also observed in the developing regions. Particularly, the market share in world international tourism has been increasing for Asia and the Pacific, the Middle East and Africa. For many countries in those regions, international tourism is now considered an important source of foreign exchange earnings and employment. Therefore, tourism has been given much attention in the national development strategies of many developing countries and recently placed on the agenda of many international conferences on sustainable development.

122

Journal of Economic Cooperation

Considering their rich and diverse natural, geographical, historical and cultural heritage assets, the OIC countries have, in fact, high potential for the development of a sustainable international tourism sector. Yet, considering their modest share in the world tourism market and the concentration of their international tourism activity in a small number of them, it seems that a large part of their inherent tourism potential remains unutilised. The desirable levels of tourism development in many OIC countries have indeed not been achieved yet. The potential of inherent natural tourism resources, albeit a crucial factor, cannot, unless properly planned and managed, lay by itself the basis of a successful tourism industry. The impediments to the development of a sustainable international tourism sector in the OIC countries are diverse. They relate to the particular tourism features of each country, its level of development and its national development policies and priorities. Yet, for the majority of them, those impediments range from the lack of technical know-how and weak promotional and public awareness to insufficient tourismrelated infrastructures and investments and the lack of tourism diversification and safety. However, in spite of those problems, it is believed that there still exists a wide scope for the development of a sustainable international tourism industry in the OIC countries. Overall, this requires the adoption of long-term strategies as well as medium to short-term plans and programmes at both the national and regional levels along with a process of of recommendations can be proposed to serve In this context, a set creating a supportive OIC cooperation and coordination environment. as policy guidelines to which the attention of the member countries needs to be drawn. These recommendations can be suggested at both the national and the OIC-regional cooperation levels as follows: (1) At the National Level Objectives and programmes of action for sustainable tourism development are to be outlined specifically in the national development plans and strategies and formulated in consultation with the relevant private sector stakeholders. Those objectives and programmes should be focused on the promotion of the economic, social, cultural and environmental incentives of tourism.

International Tourism in the OIC Countries: Prospects and Challenges 123

The focus of the sustainable development and management of tourism should be on strengthening the national capacity building, particularly national tourism administrations, through developing new resources and facilities as well as raising public awareness of the countrys inherent natural and cultural tourism resources. Based on international standards, efforts should be made towards sustainable physical planning and the strengthening of tourism destinations, in general, and ecotourism products, in particular, in order to preserve the environmental and cultural quality of those destinations. Improving the quality and efficiency of the basic tourism-related infrastructures and services such as hotels, roads, public amenities, transportation and communication, tourism information and visa regulations to provide world-class services to visitors and tourists. In this context, efforts should be made to promote synergies between transport and tourism policies, with particular reference to air As an activity that symbolises free movement, international transport. tourism has everything to gain from the greatest possible liberalisation of trade in the services related to it. In this context, efforts should be made to secure greater facilitation of border movements for visitors and increase national capacities to use the relevant elements of the Tourism is a business and primarily an area for private sector multilateral trade framework. activity. Thus, efforts should be made to encourage and promote extensive private sector involvement in tourism development. In this context, endeavours should be made to strengthen public-private sector cooperation with a view to establishing policies, strategies and regulations relative to sustainable tourism development. In particular, efforts should be made to encourage private sector investment in tourism projects and establishing joint ventures particularly in the areas Diversifyingbuilding and improving the quality of socio-cultural of capacity tourism products by the inclusion of tourism services. programmes and traditional activities involving local communities. In this context, efforts should be made to improve the planning, management and marketing of ecotourism, not only as a sector with

124

Journal of Economic Cooperation

a great potential for economic developmentespecially in remote areas where few other possibilities existbut also as a significant tool for the conservation of the natural environment. Developing and raising tourism-oriented education. This will help change peoples perceptions regarding tourism and raise their awareness of the opportunities and challenges involved therein. This should be accompanied by making efficient use of the mass media and other promotional facilities to publicise and promote existing attractions and available resources. Providing training and education programmes on different aspects of tourism, particularly to the people and personnel directly engaged in tourism activities. These should cover a broad range of subjects such as foreign languages, business and tourism techniques, the environmental andprogrammes, actions must be taken to provide To facilitate those socio-cultural impacts of tourism, history, culture local communities with financial and technical backing and develop and the local and national floramanagerial etc. especially in small entrepreneurial capacities and and fauna, skills, and medium-sized enterprises, in order to improve the competitiveness of the tourism products and services. Efforts should be made to find and gain access to funding for tourism projects through improving and optimising a broad range of funding resources, including the public and private sectors. Efforts should also be made to seek external resources from the relevant international institutions such as the special programme of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) which was developed by the World Bank for (2) tourism development. Those and other sources would help At the OIC Cooperation Level countries In the light of theand fund their national tourism activities. far by the identify, plan resolutions and declarations adopted so official OIC meetings on tourism, and to elaborate on the broad objectives and programmes of action defined under the chapter of Tourism in the OIC Plan of Action, some means/modalities for

International Tourism in the OIC Countries: Prospects and Challenges 125

strengthening cooperation among the member countries in this important field can be proposed as follows: Producing joint programmes and promotional materials on tourism such as TV programmes, brochures, posters and guidebooks and making them available to the member countries as well as other countries around the world in order to promote the cultural heritage, diversity and landmarks of the OIC countries at the regional and international levels. Developing and applying scientific methods of joint tourism marketing and advertisement supported by tools that have a major impact on consumers such as the Internet. In this context, efforts should be made to facilitate the establishment of a data network on tourism and related services in the OIC countries. Encouraging the establishment of alliances between tourism stakeholders in the OIC countries, particularly the official tourism promotion bodies, with a view to strengthening tourism marketing and promoting cooperation efforts at the sub-regional level as well as at the level of the OIC region as a whole. Establishing and facilitating linkages in air, land/rail and sea transportation with a view to easing access from one destination to another within the OIC region. In this context, efforts should be made to establish alliances among the airlines of the OIC countries with the possibility of having an open-sky policy and direct flights between their capitals and major cities. Easing entry and movement of tourists among the OIC countries and enhancing intra-OIC tourism through, inter alia, simplifying visa and other legal and administrative travel procedures. In this context, efforts should be made to establish a legal framework towards concluding an Encouraging public and private joint venture investments in agreement on visa arrangements among the OIC countries, tourism including projects through providing special facilities and preferential the possibility of issuing an electronic or joint visa. treatments for investors from the OIC countries. This could also include the joint dissemination and exchange of information on tourism investment

126

Journal of Economic Cooperation

opportunities through, for example, the joint production of handbooks and/or guidelines on investment in the OIC countries. Holding joint training/vocational courses, workshops, seminars and conferences on the tourism industry by the relevant training institutes and establishing linkages or networks among tourism training institutions in the OIC countries and facilitating the exchange of experts and research on tourism development. REFERENCES SESRTCIC, BASEIND Database, Ankara Centre, May 2005. World Tourism Organisation, Compendium of Tourism Statistics, 2005 Edition. World Tourism Organisation, http://www.world-tourism.org, Facts & Figures: A Historical Perspective of World Tourism. World Tourism Organisation, Tourism Highlights, 2004 Edition. World Tourism Organisation, http://www.world-tourism.org, Tourism and the World Economy. World Tourism Organisation, WTO World Tourism Barometer, Vol. 3, No. 1, January 2005.

TABLE A.1: INTERNATIONAL TOURIST ARRIVALS IN OIC REGIONS AND COUNTRIES

Africa Algeria Benin Burkina Faso Cameroon Chad Comoros Gabon Gambia Guinea Mali Morocco Mozambique Niger Nigeria Senegal Sierra Leone Sudan Togo Tunisia Uganda Americas Guyana Suriname 1990 9668 1137 110 74 89 9 8 109 100 Tourist Arrivals (Thousand) 200020012002 126111350813688 866901988 968872 126128150 196220227 435732 241919 155169208 795781 333843 868996 427843804453 323541 505357 813850887 389396427 162428 727458 385052 505853875064 193205205 162153164 10599104 575460 2003 13075 1166 163 188 21 222 73 44 70 4761 441 55 Growth Rate (Annual % Change) 1990/002000/012001/022002/03 2.77.11.3-4.5 -2.74.09.718.0 -1.4-8.3-18.2 5.51.617.28.7 8.212.23.2-17.2 16.932.6-43.9-34.4 11.6-20.80.0 3.69.023.16.7 -2.3-27.842.1-9.9 15.213.22.3 6.93.57.9-27.1 0.62.41.76.9 67.5-18.5 9.16.07.5-3.5 15.64.64.4 4.71.87.8-17.1 -16.650.016.732.1 -3.52.8-21.65.2 1.431.64.0-1.9 4.76.5-6.01.0 10.86.20.023.9 3.9-5.67.211.6 5.1-5.75.1-2.9 2.2-5.311.136.7

44 4024 21 190 246 98 103 33 3204 69 110 64 46

354 37 61 51 5114 254 183 101 82

Asia/Pacific Bangladesh Brunei Indonesia Iran Malaysia Maldives Pakistan Europe/C. Asia Albania Azerbaijan Kazakhstan Kyrgyz Rep. Tajikistan Turkey Uzbekistan Middle East Bahrain Egypt Iraq Jordan Kuwait Lebanon Libya Oman Palestine 1990 10889 115 377 2178 154 7446 195 424 5419 30

5389 30 9299 1376 2411 748 572 15

Tourist Arrivals (Thousand) 200020012002 187992133921890 199207207 948840790 506451545033 134214021585 102221277513292 467461485 557500498 127251454217229 323547 681767793 147118452832 5999140 856 101721144613079 323547 234282337028261 242027883167 511643574906 196127 142714781622 878596 742837956 174169135 571829817 3366051

2003 17037 244 685 4467

10577 563 501 17854 56 1066 2410 248

13843 56 29403 2955 5746

96 149

1573 110 1016 142 1095 63

Growth Rate (Annual % Change) 1990/002000/012001/022002/03 5.613.52.6-22.2 5.64.00.017.9 9.7-11.4-6.0-13.3 8.81.8-2.3-11.2 24.24.513.1 3.225.04.0-20.4 9.1-1.35.216.1 2.8-10.2-0.40.6 8.914.318.53.6 0.69.434.319.1 12.63.434.4 25.453.5-14.9 67.841.477.1 -37.520.0 6.612.514.35.8 0.69.434.319.1 9.7-0.220.94.0 5.815.213.6-6.7 7.8-14.812.617.1 -12.5-35.2 9.63.69.7-3.0 19.2-2.312.914.6 12.814.26.3 6.1-2.9-20.15.2 14.445.2-1.434.0 -82.1-15.023.5

Qatar Saudi Arabia Syria U.A.E

1990 136 2209 562 973 52 35385 451000 7.8

Tourist Arrivals (Thousand) 200020012002 378376587 658567367511 141613182870 390741345445 737698 677257291281232 686000684000703000 9.910.711.6

2003 557 7332 2788 5871 155 77552 691000 11.2

Growth Rate (Annual % Change) 1990/002000/012001/022002/03 10.8-0.556.1-5.1 11.52.311.5-2.4 9.7-6.9117.8-2.9 14.95.831.77.8 3.54.128.958.2 6.77.711.4-4.5 4.3-0.32.8-1.7

Yemen edition, and Tourism Highlights, 2004 edition. 2005

Sources: (1) SESRTCIC, BASEIND Database. (2) World Tourism Organisation, Compendium of Tourism Statistics, Notes:

- International Tourist Arrivals: For a proper understanding of this term, two considerations should be taken into OIC Total account: first, a tourist means a visitor who stays at least one night in a collective or private accommodation in the country visited (overnight visitors); second, arrivals do not refer to the number of persons travelling, but rather to the % of World arrivals (visits) in a destination; same-day visitors are not included. number of
World Total

1990 Africa Algeria Benin Burkina Faso Cameroon Chad Comoros Cte dIvoire Gabon Guinea Mali Morocco Mozambique Niger Nigeria Senegal Sierra Leone Sudan Togo Tunisia Uganda Americas Guyana Suriname

2862
64 28 11 53 8 2 51 3 30 47 1259

17 25 167 19 21 58 948 10

Tourism Receipts (US $ Million) 200020012002 471854305009 102100111 777360 293539 39 142325 15911 4948 1717 121443 4088104 203625262251 746463 283228 200232263 144174190 101438 305662 71113 168217511523 113163185 917552 756149 16143

2003 5692 112

3238 98 34 184 60 118 1583 265 43 39 4

Growth Rate (Annual % Change) 1990/002000/012001/022002/03 5.412.6-13.510.6 4.8-2.011.00.9 10.6-5.2-17.8 10.220.711.4 -3.0 5.864.38.7 22.3-40.022.2 -0.4-2.0 18.90.0 -8.816.7207.1 -1.6120.018.2 4.924.1-10.943.8 -13.5-1.655.6 5.114.3-12.521.4 23.116.013.4 -1.520.89.2-3.2 -6.240.0171.457.9 3.686.710.790.3 -19.157.118.2 5.94.1-13.03.9 27.444.213.543.2 9.1-17.6-30.7-17.3 10.8-18.7-19.7-20.4 3.8-12.5-78.633.3

38
27 11

Asia/Pacific Bangladesh Indonesia Iran Malaysia Maldives Pakistan Europe/C. Asia Albania Azerbaijan Kazakhstan Kyrgyz Rep. Tajikistan Turkey Uzbekistan Middle East Bahrain Egypt Iraq Jordan Kuwait Lebanon Libya Oman Palestine Qatar 3225 4548 135 1100 55 512 132 1990 4124 11 2105 61 1667 89 156 3457 4 228

Tourism Receipts (US $ Million) 200020012002 116821361713261 504857 574953964306 4678911357 501168637118 321327318 8492105 8523.211104.813167 389446487 634351 356452622 152436 1.20.82 76361006711901 637268 126081225912696 573630741 434538003764 102 722700786 98104119 742837956 979475 221144206 101118 128272285

2003 12296 57 4037 1777 5901 388 136 14445 522 58 564 48 2 13203 48 10664 740 4584

6 69

815 117 1016 79 219

Growth Rate (Annual % Change) 1990/002000/012001/022002/03 11.016.6-2.6-7.3 16.3-4.018.80.0 10.6-6.1-20.2-6.2 22.690.852.331.0 10.637.03.7-17.1 13.71.9-2.822.0 -6.09.514.129.5 9.430.318.69.7 58.014.79.27.2 -12.1-31.718.613.7 27.037.6-9.3 60.050.033.3 -33.3150.00.0 9.031.818.210.9 14.3-5.6-29.4 10.7-2.83.6-16.0 15.69.917.6-0.1 14.7-12.5-0.921.8 6.4 3.5-3.012.33.7 -2.96.114.4-1.7 12.814.26.3 32.1-3.1-20.25.3 12.3-34.843.16.3 -89.1-27.3 112.54.829.5

369

Saudi Arabia Syria U.A.E Yemen

1990 1884 320 315 20 15029 269000 5.6

Tourism Receipts (US $ Million) 200020012002 331234153420 10821150970 101210641328 733838 37622.242485.844185 475000463000480000 7.99.29.2

2003 1147 1439 139 3140 523000 8.2

Growth Rate (Annual % Change) 1990/002000/012001/022002/03 5.83.10.1 13.06.3-15.718.2 12.45.124.88.4 13.8-47.90.0265.8 9.612.94.0-2.4 5.9-2.53.79.0

OIC Total Notes:

Sources: (1) SESRTCIC, BASEIND Database. (2) World Tourism Organisation, Compendium of Tourism Statistics, 2005 edition, and Tourism Highlights, 2004 edition. (1) International Tourism Receipts: This covers all tourism receipts made by visitors from abroad (inbound) on

lodging, food and drinks, fuel, transportation in the country, entertainment, shopping, etc. This concept includes World Total
as % of World

receipts generated by overnight as well as same-day visitors. It excludes, however, the receipts related to international transport made by non-resident visitors (for instance ticket receipts from foreigners travelling with a national company), which are classified under a separate category called International Fare Receipts. (2) International Tourism Expenditure: This covers expenditures of (outbound) visitors in other countries including their payments for lodging, food and drinks, fuel, transportation in the country, entertainment, shopping, etc. It includes expenditures made by overnight as well as same-day visitors but excludes the expenditures related to international transport made by resident visitors (for instance ticket expenditures of residents travelling with an international company), which are classified under a separate category called International Fare Expenditure.

TABLE A.3: BALANCE OF INTERNATIONAL TOURISM (US$ Million) 1999

Albania Algeria Azerbaijan Bahrain Bangladesh Benin Burkina Faso Chad Cte dIvoire Egypt Gabon Guinea Guyana Indonesia Iran Jordan Kazakhstan Kuwait Kyrgyz Rep. Libya Malaysia Maldives Mali Morocco Mozambique Niger Nigeria Oman Pakistan Palestine Qatar Senegal Sierra Leone Sudan Suriname Syria Togo Tunisia Turkey Uganda U.A.E Yemen 199 -170 -58 306 -162 68 2000 117 -91 -69 349 -251 65 9 -42 -140 3272 -57 3 6 1600 -201 335 -52 -2396 -1 -98 2487 318.5 0 1610 -34 12 -530 -249 -168 -190 -179 97 -22 -25 -7 413 5 1419 5925 -1 -2007 3 2001 188 -94 -66 380 -118 63 13 -33 -144 2668 -100 -1 6 3048 183 280 -221 -2739 12 -203 3760 324 52 2140 -50 15 -608 -372 -163 -431 -94 131 -28 -18 -9 480 6 1478 8329 50 -2257 -41 2002 121 -137 -55 363 -145 53 -55 2486 12 11 1360 -2393 370 -134 -2902 26 -473 4167 315 68 1806 -50 12 -687 -323 -74 -412 -138 147 -1 -29 7 210 8 1263 10021 3257 2003 33 -143 -53 413 -108

-122 2825 -76 -17 31 2357 -228 440 -31 -2178 3 -122 1567 312 33 1491 -187 9 -449 -222 -104 -94

8 841 -2413 438 -105 -3232 31 2757 385 2692 -42 13 -358 -744 -102 23 -1 -2

112 4 -13 -4 401 6 1588 3732 7

1283 11090 -2326 -40 -2520 62

-75

Sources: Calculated based on the data available in the sources mentioned under Table A.2 above.

Journal of Economic Cooperation

TABLE A.4: BALANCE OF INTERNATIONAL TOURISM AS % OF GNP

Albania Algeria Azerbaijan Bahrain Bangladesh Benin Burkina Faso Chad Cte dIvoire Egypt Gabon Guinea Guyana Indonesia Iran Jordan Kazakhstan Kuwait Kyrgyz Rep. Libya Malaysia Maldives Mali Morocco Mozambique Niger Nigeria Oman Pakistan Palestine Qatar Senegal Sierra Leone Sudan Suriname Syria Togo Tunisia Turkey Uganda U.A.E Yemen 1999 5.8 -0.4 -1.3 4.9 -0.3 2.9 2000 3.2 -0.2 -1.4 5.0 -0.5 2.7 0.3 -3.0 -1.3 3.4 -1.5 0.1 0.9 1.3 -0.2 4.0 -0.3 -5.5 -0.1 -0.3 3.2 54.4 0.0 4.6 -0.9 0.7 -1.5 -1.5 -0.3 -3.5 -1.0 2.1 -3.5 -0.3 -0.8 2.7 0.4 7.7 21.3 0.0 -2.9 0.0 2001 4.6 -0.2 -1.2 5.2 -0.2 2.6 0.5 -2.0 -1.3 2.7 -2.5 0.0 0.9 2.2 0.2 3.2 -1.1 -7.0 0.9 -0.7 4.6 54.5 2.1 6.0 -1.3 0.9 -1.6 -1.9 -0.3 -8.9 -0.5 2.8 -4.0 -0.2 -1.2 2.8 0.5 7.7 26.6 0.8 -3.2 -0.5 2002 2.7 -0.3 -0.9 4.6 -0.3 2.1 2003 0.5 -0.2 -0.8 4.9 -3.1 1999-2003 3.4 -0.2 -1.1 4.9 -0.9 2.6 0.4 -2.6 -1.3 3.1 -2.0 0.0 1.9 1.3 -0.9 4.3 -0.5 -6.7 0.9 -0.9 3.5 55.7 1.4 5.0 -1.9 0.7 -1.6 -1.7 -0.4 -5.8 -0.6 2.6 -0.8 -0.2 -0.4 2.3 0.4 7.0 22.8 0.3 -3.1 -0.3

-2.7 2.5 0.4 1.7 0.8 -2.1 4.1 -0.6 -7.5 1.8 -2.4 4.8 52.7 2.5 4.6 -1.3 0.7 -1.8 -1.6 -0.1 -9.0 -0.8 3.1 -0.1 -0.3 0.8 1.1 0.6 6.3 28.6 3.8

-1.2 3.3 -1.9 -0.5 4.7 1.6 -0.2 5.7 -0.2 -6.2 0.2 -0.4 2.0 56.8 1.2 4.1 -4.9 0.5 -1.4 -1.5 -0.2 -1.6

1.1 0.4 -2.1 4.4 -0.4 -7.1 1.8

2.7 60.3 5.7 -1.0 0.7 -1.7 -1.2 -0.5 2.9 0.0 -0.2

2.4 0.6 -0.1 -0.5 2.8 0.4 8.0 14.0 0.1

5.4 23.7 -3.2 -0.4 -3.1 0.5

-1.1

Sources: Calculated based on the data available in the sources mentioned under Table A.2 above.

TABLE A.5: INTERNATIONAL TOURISM RECEIPTS AS % OF EXPORTS 1999

Albania Algeria Azerbaijan Bahrain Bangladesh Benin Burkina Faso Chad Comoros Cte dIvoire Egypt Gabon Guinea Guyana Indonesia Iran Jordan Kazakhstan Kuwait Kyrgyz Rep. Lebanon Libya Malaysia Maldives Mali Morocco Mozambique Niger Nigeria Oman Pakistan Palestine Qatar Saudi Arabia Senegal Sierra Leone Sudan Suriname Syria Tajikistan Togo Tunisia Turkey Uganda U.A.E. Uzbekistan Yemen 76.7 0.6 8.7 7.9 1.1 45.4 0.0 0.0 0.0 2.4 110.4 0.4 1.4 17.3 9.7 1.9 64.3 6.5 0.8 3.1 0.0 0.4 3.8 490.6 30.6 26.0 57.6 12.1 1.3 1.5 0.9 15.6 2000 152.5 0.4 3.6 7.5 0.9 36.7 17.5 16.1 93.8 1.3 69.0 0.4 1.9 12.6 9.3 1.8 56.2 3.6 0.5 3.0 103.9 0.8 4.6 422.4 17.0 27.5 20.3 14.3 0.9 2.3 0.9 11.4 1.1 4.5 20.8 8.1 1.8 3.2 22.8 0.2 1.9 19.4 14.0 25.7 2.0 3.0 1.0 2001 146.2 0.5 1.9 7.7 0.8 38.8 20.2 29.1 24.3 1.3 91.8 0.5 2.6 10.6 9.6 3.9 30.5 5.0 0.6 5.0 85.4 0.8 7.2 424.7 57.1 36.2 9.1 20.9 1.2 1.6 1.0 1.8 2.5 5.0 22.2 26.9 3.0 2.7 18.8 0.1 3.1 19.0 24.0 40.0 2.2 3.6 1.1 2002 147.6 0.6 2.4 8.8 1.0 30.2 22.8 37.9 39.3 2003 116.8 0.4 2.2 7.1 0.9 1999-2003 128.0 0.5 3.8 7.8 1.0 37.8 15.1 20.8 39.3 1.7 76.1 0.5 2.7 11.3 8.5 3.9 41.4 5.2 0.6 5.4 63.1 0.7 5.7 406.1 41.8 31.0 21.1 16.3 1.2 2.0 1.0 7.6 1.8 4.9 19.9 50.3 3.1 1.7 20.9 0.2 2.6 18.2 18.7 34.3 2.3 3.9 1.8

54.0 4.9 8.9 7.5 6.0 29.4 6.4 0.8 7.4

55.2

6.8 6.6 5.7 26.5 4.4 0.6 8.2

5.0 20.3 133.3 3.1 1.5 29.8 0.1 2.3 20.7 12.8 18.6 2.4 5.2 2.5

0.8 7.3 349.5 62.7 28.6 9.2 13.7 1.6 2.4 1.1 1.4 2.5 5.1 20.0 38.4 3.3 0.6 15.0 0.3 3.1 17.3 23.4 38.8 2.5 4.0 1.2

5.3 343.4 36.7 9.3 20.5 2.1 1.3 2.8 16.3 44.8 4.5 0.7 18.3

14.5 19.2 48.4 2.1 3.1

Source: Calculated based on the data available in the sources mentioned under Table A.2 above.

Number of Hotels 199 16 23 1042 185 96

Albania Algeria Azerbaijan Bahrain Bangladesh Benin Brunei Burkina Faso Cameroon Chad Comoros Cte dIvoire Djibouti Egypt Gabon Gambia Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Indonesia Iran Iraq Jordan

Occupancy Rate (1) 45

Tourism Information Centres 6

Tourism Agencies (2) 51 591 74

Car Rental Agencies

Sporting/ Recreation Centres (3) 2 67 8

Museums

Fairs/ Exhibitions/ Festivals (4) 2 7 4 2 8

Restaurants 853 164

11 17 13 2 5

42.3

2 2

500 53 27

11 11

10 11

147

59

1152 33 318

59

28 5 1

856 37 40

177 2 4

13 2 2

62 4 5

11 6 3 59

69.8

10435 894 458

43.2

30

2269 74 426

392

94

262

33.7

12

232

Number of Hotels 338 206 95 38 244 632 61 134 1551 75 850 289

Occupancy Rate (1)

Tourism Information Centres

Kazakhstan Kuwait Kyrgyz Rep. Lebanon Libya Malaysia Maldives Mali Mauritania Morocco Mozambique Niger Nigeria Oman Pakistan Palestine Qatar Saudi Arabia Senegal Sierra Leone Sudan Suriname Syria

Tourism Agencies (2) 713

Car Rental Agencies

Sporting/ Recreation Centres (3)

Museums 143 4

Fairs/ Exhibitions/ Festivals (4) 3 1 7

Restaurants

10

59

90

77.2 40 39 44 39 55 11.7

1 9

90 720

1 10

3 12

2 5 18 4

74 73 1682 125 1097

5 2 2

37 349

14 17 63

188 2472

37.7

518

801

26

Number of Hotels 12 143 366 260 424 790

Tajikistan Togo Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Uganda U.A.E Uzbekistan Yemen

Occupancy Rate (1) 60 10.7 42 45.7

Tourism Information Centres 2 25 146 13

Tourism Agencies (2) 18 22 407 3389

Car Rental Agencies 5 61

Sporting/ Recreation Centres (3) 3 60 363 10

Museums 50 5 45 187 1 22

Fairs/ Exhibitions/ Festivals (4) 5 33 129 1 7

Restaurants

60 331 572

68 1

42 49 310

382

Source: Responses to the Questionnaire for the Collection of Data on the Tourism Sector in the OIC Member Countries circulated by 1801 the Ankara Centre (SESRTCIC) to all member countries on 13 December 2004. Notes: (1) This corresponds to the relationship between available capacity and the extent to which it is used. This rate may refer either to use of rooms or beds and is based on the number of nights of both domestic and international tourists. (2) Including travel and tour operators. (3) Number of units such as golf courses, diving sites, surfing, ski, kayak, canoes, river/lake fishing, thermal locations, etc. (4) International and/or regional.