A delegation from the General Secretariat, led by His Excellency Ambassador Dr. Ali bin Ibrahim Al-Maliki, Assistant Secretary-General and head of the Economic Affairs Sector, participated in the Arab Forum for Tourism Statistics held in the Sultanate of Oman on 14-15 October. The event took place under the patronage of His Excellency Sayed Salim Al-Mahrouqi, Minister of Heritage and Tourism of Oman, and in the presence of Dr. Khalifa Al-Barwani, CEO of the Statistics Centre in Oman, alongside representatives from numerous international and regional organisations, Arab countries, and experts in the field.
In his address during the forum's opening session, Al-Maliki underscored the vital role of the tourism industry as a key driver of economic growth and sustainable development in many countries. He highlighted the imperative to enhance and expand this sector to promote development, diversify national economies, and create employment opportunities.
His Excellency also referenced the Arab Tourism Strategy, endorsed by the Council of Arab Tourism Ministers, which aims to advance the tourism sector across Arab nations. He emphasised that the success of this strategy’s programmes and plans hinges on the availability of accurate data and modern statistics, their analysis, and the formulation of sound future projections. This, he noted, places significant responsibility on the field of statistics and its fundamental role in ensuring the successful implementation of the strategy. Statistical analyses, he explained, are extensively employed in decision-making processes, whether in the private or public sectors. Al-Maliki expressed his hope that this forum would serve as a true starting point for the development of tourism statistics in Arab countries and help address the challenges facing the sector.
Following his speech, His Excellency, along with the Minister of Heritage and Tourism, inaugurated the exhibition held alongside the forum, which showcased tourism projects in the Sultanate of Oman. The forum's discussions covered a range of important topics, including the significance of tourism statistics in supporting national development strategies, innovations in tourism data, international experiences in utilising non-traditional sources for tourism statistics, as well as Arab experiences in the production of tourism statistics.
