(MENAFN- Emirates News Agency (WAM))
DUBAI, 24th April, 2017 (WAM) -- The UNWTO and Arabian Travel Market, ATM, Ministerial Forum on tourism's contribution to sustainable and inclusive economic growth and diversification in the MENA region today brought together Ministers of Tourism and industry leaders in the MENA region.
The meeting was held under the patronage of Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, Minister of Economy, to consider ways of capitalizing on tourism growth in the region.
The discussions touched on means of building a sustainable ecosystem for the sector that would unlock its contribution to GDP growth and economic diversification, innovation, entrepreneurship and productivity, job creation, human capital and infrastructure development, investment and export promotion.
Attending the meeting was Mohamed Khamis Al Muhairi, Under-Secretary, Ministry of Economy, and Minister of Economy's advisor to Tourism, who addressed the forum on behalf of the minister of economy.
He highlighted the unprecedented growth secured by the UAE tourism sector thanks to the directives of the UAE wise leadership.
The total contribution of the travel and tourism sector to the UAE's GDP reached 12.1 percent, he said, citing a recent report by the World Travel & Tourism Council, WTTC.
"The tourism sector provides 617,000 job opportunities nationwide, which accounts for 10.4 percent of the total workforce in the country, he said, noting that tourism investments in the UAE hit AED 26.2 billion last year, accounting for 7 percent of the total investments.
ATM kicked off today in Dubai in presence of a large number of tourism ministers from across the Arab region, including Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Tunisia.
WAM / Hatem /
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