Arab League Secretary-General Calls for a Global Campaign to Restore Antiquities Damaged and Destroyed by Terrorism
By Akram Medhat
The first sessions of the 20th session of the Council of Arab Tourism Ministers were held today at the League of Arab States in Cairo, taking place on December 6 and 7 this month.
In his speech during the opening session, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, said that tourism is one of the most important economic sectors, holding promising potential to varying degrees in the vast majority of Arab countries, but unfortunately it remains untapped or does not achieve its maximum return. There is no doubt that the circumstances the Arab world has gone through in recent years have led to a serious decline in the tourism sector, which, as you all know, is highly sensitive to security conditions and social stability.
He added that today's meeting comes within the framework of one of the most important ministerial councils, concerned with developing the tourism sector in Arab countries and strengthening cooperation and coordination among the bodies and ministries working in this sector across the Arab world, maximizing benefit and achieving mutual gain.
He pointed out that the picture is not bleak, as the Arab world contains impressive success stories and initiatives to build a tourism sector that deserve praise and appreciation, and diligent work is under way in some countries to develop new and innovative areas of tourism. However, Arab integration in this sector still suffers from slowness and weakness.
He stressed that serious cooperation and coordination in tourism development at the Arab level would prevent unjustified competition and lead each country to make optimal use of its tourism resources by focusing on its comparative advantages. "I am confident that your esteemed council will hold an in-depth discussion of these issues, as well as of how to work on boosting intra-Arab tourism and removing the obstacles that prevent it from taking off, so that Arab countries receiving tourists can outperform the competing tourist destinations that have succeeded in recent years in attracting Arab tourists."
"Tourism is not only a source of hard currency or a means of creating jobs, but a leading sector that can contribute to developing and strengthening a number of other sectors of the economy, such as infrastructure, transport, financial services and others. Investment in the tourism sector is in fact investment in all these areas, and leads to their stimulation, revival and advancement," he said, adding that advancing tourism requires a comprehensive approach to raising the quality of service in all these sectors, so that the Arab tourism product rises and becomes truly competitive.
He expressed hope that serious steps would be taken to advance Arab tourism by developing the Arab Tourism Strategy and strengthening its implementation mechanism, especially regarding facilitating tourist movement between Arab countries, and by studying how to improve services at Arab airports and tourist destinations in the countries hosting tourists.
He affirmed that restoring security stability and eliminating terrorism are the necessary condition and the most important lever for driving the tourism sector, strengthening its role and maximizing its contribution to Arab economies, which badly need to diversify and move beyond reliance on a single field or on one pivotal activity while neglecting other sectors.
He denounced what has become of archaeological areas and historical and religious sites after they suffered ruin and destruction at the hands of gangs wreaking havoc in some of our countries, stressing that the Arab world is the largest reservoir of human memory, as its land embraces the antiquities that bear witness to the dawn of human civilization, and that the ongoing destruction of some of these priceless antiquities is a sabotage of memory and an erasure of one of the most important chapters in the story of human civilization.
He continued that with the signs of the defeat of some of the misguided groups and criminal terrorist organizations that spread destruction in some Arab countries, "we must call for large, effective campaigns and initiatives with global resonance to recover, restore and repair the antiquities that have been destroyed and damaged. The cultural and religious tourism sector in the Arab world has unparalleled potential and possesses a wealth of historical sites and unique surviving monuments, and Arab governments bear the responsibility of protecting and preserving this human heritage out of respect for history and to develop one of the most important tourism sectors, which unfortunately still suffers from deterioration and poor management efficiency."
