To boost tourismConference on opportunities in Yemeni Islands [Archives:2004/794/Community]

Hassan Al-Zaidi
The first international conference on investment opportunities in the Yemeni Islands started lNov. 28 and will continue up to Dec. 4 2004.
As many as 150 foreign, Arab and local personalities, businessmen and entrepreneurs will take part in the event. The conference is to discuss around 60 working papers, some of which are devoted to the entrepreneur studies in a number of tourist, industrial and medical areas.
It is the first time to see social figures and personalities of distinction inhabiting the Yemeni Islands partaking in such an important event. They will review all the distinctive characteristics of the Yemeni Islands and propose their suggestions about their knowledge of the Yemeni Islands which number 200, scattering throughout the regional waters in the Red and Arab Seas and Indian Ocean.
The Yemeni Islands enjoy nice weather, unparallel environments and geographical terrains.
The conference is an opportunity for promoting tourism in the country, which has been suffering since 1998. As a result of terror acts, the number of tourists visiting Yemen has gone down. In 2003, the number of tourists reached the 90 thousand and is considered the largest one so far. These tourists. 57 percent of whom were Saudi nationals, spent $139 million.
The number of Arab tourists increased five times over the last five years to reach 105,284 tourists from the Arab countries, however, the rate of European tourists has gone down.
The steps taken by Yemen follows the rapid move witnessed by tourism globally. Reports indicate that in 2000 there were more than 100 million tourists touring countries all over the world.
The Yemeni Islands Authority suffers from a lack of tourism components such as providing adequate accommodation for tourists and other relevant facilities.
The infrastructure in Yemen forms a complicated problem hampering the tourism development. Nether marine camps, sport yards, gardens nor marketing centers are seen to attract visitors.
The conference aims to propose a study demanding the government to provide the necessary support and basic services in tourism-attracting areas, as well as to carry out advertising promotion for such areas and paving the way for foreign investment.
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