The Syrian pavilion at the Arabian Travel Market in Dubai is attempting to benefit from the recent rapprochement with Arab countries to attract back Gulf tourists lost during the ongoing war which has lasted more than ten years. Syrian Deputy Minister of Tourism Nidal Mshafj, who displayed a picture of President Bashar al-Assad and offered pieces of sweets, stated that the goal is to restore tourism revenue from the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, as Syria used to welcome millions of tourists from these countries, especially in the summer.
Mshafj noted that last year Syria received 1.5 million visitors, a third of whom were tourists. He explained that about ten percent of these tourists came from Western Europe. He added that Syria aims to receive three million visitors this year. Data from the Ministry of Tourism showed that 385,000 visitors came to Syria in the first quarter of the year, including 40,000 non-Arabs.
He stated that his country wants to increase foreign currency flows through tourism, but described Syria's allies during the war as its main markets in the future. He further mentioned, “The country aims to open new markets especially in Iran, Russia, China, and neighboring countries as well.”
He indicated that Syria is building new hotels in coastal areas to meet the needs of family tourism from Gulf countries and will soon launch a website for online visa applications. The private sector is also in talks with tour operators in Jordan and Lebanon to reorganize multi-country tours that used to be popular.
Despite acknowledging Israeli strikes, Mshafj claimed that Syria is a very safe country for tourism after nearly 11 years of war. He noted that Israel attempts to target the Syrian economy and hinder the relationships that have begun to restore with Arab countries, as well as the current diplomatic openness the country is experiencing.
