Joint statement by the Arab Tourism Organization, the Arab Civil Aviation Organization and the Arab Air Carriers’ Organization
The travel and tourism sector is facing a crisis that has not been witnessed in its history, due to the spread of the COVID-19 epidemic. This crisis is threatening the loss of more than 75 million jobs globally supported by this vital sector, which is considered one of the basic sectors of the economy contributing by 10.4% to the global GDP.
In the Arab world, so far, millions of reservations done with airlines and at hotels have been canceled in various countries, the flood of tourists to the world's leading Arab touristic destinations has stopped, thousands of flights of Arab airlines have been canceled, and 800 aircraft belonging to those airlines have been parked at airports. In brief, this vital sector, which represents an average of 14.2 percent of the GDP of Arab countries, lost from the beginning of the year until late March 2020, about USD 25 billion in tourism receipts, USD 8 billion dollars in revenue loss for Arab airlines, and USD 12.96 billion in tourism investments. Most importantly, this crisis is threatening the loss of about one million permanent jobs and hundreds of thousands of seasonal jobs in the Arab world that depend for their livelihood on the travel and tourism sector.
Therefore, recognizing the size of this crisis and the role of the travel and tourism sector in sustainable development and in order to help jumpstart the economic contribution of the sector when this crisis is over, God willing, the Arab Tourism Organization, the Arab Civil Aviation Organization and the Arab Air Carriers’ Organization decided to establish a regional strategic team that includes representatives of the three organizations and other stakeholders in the travel and tourism sector in the Arab world to develop a series of measures and action plans that would support the return of this sector to play its natural role in sustainable development and to encourage Arab governments to adopt those measures as soon as this crisis ends.
The three organizations believe that it is necessary for Arab governments to adopt some steps that would help in jumpstarting the economic contribution of the travel and tourism sector at the end of this crisis. Those steps are in line with the resolutions of Arab Summits issued since 2001 to date, and that emphasized the support to the tourism sector. The most important steps are as follows:
• To provide tax exemptions to the relevant sectors for a period of at least two years.
• To approve rescue plans and financial stimulus for the relevant establishments to ensure the continuity of their workforce in order to provide a social safety net, in addition to providing for them a quick return to work as soon as this cloud passes.
• To request lenders and service providers to provide a grace period for the institutions concerned before resuming payments of their dues.
• Airport operators and air navigation services providers to exempt airlines from paying aircraft parking fees and also canceling or reducing other airport and airspace user charges for a sufficient period of time to enhance the touristic appeal to Arab destinations.
• Governments to compensate the new additional costs that relevant establishments are bearing and that relate to the containment of the virus and sterilization procedures.
• Governments to cancel or simplify visas as much as possible, as well as reducing or eliminating visa costs.
• Governments to reduce “unnecessary barriers” at ports and airports.
• Governments to reducing taxes on travelers such as air travel and hotel accommodation taxes.
• Governments to increase budgets for promoting touristic destinations.
The three organizations also called on governments to give the travel and tourism sector all the privileges that the industrial sector gets, as it is an engine for all other industries directly or indirectly, in addition to providing grants and financial facilities for small and medium-sized companies.
The three organizations confirmed that a working group has been formed to manage the tourism crisis in the Arab world, including a number of their Excellencies, tourism ministers, in addition to the three organizations, in order to follow up the developments and find solutions to all problems that may arise as a result of this crisis. The three organizations also confirmed that joint workshops and training courses will be held as soon as the crisis ends, at the will of God Almighty, for those concerned in travel and tourism to overcome the effects of losses and to promote this major sector.
The Arab Tourism Organization, the Arab Civil Aviation Organization and the Arab Air Carriers’ Organization hope that the spread of the epidemic will be contained with minimal damage to people’s health first and a rapid return to stimulate the economic cycle for the benefit of all people.
It is worth noting that resolutions of Arab Summits issued from 2001 to 2019 that aimed at supporting the tourism sector have included considering tourism a strategic sector that is granted all credit and tax facilities enjoyed by export sectors. The resolutions also supported inter-Arab tourism and attracting more foreign tourists to the Arab region, in addition to liberalizing air transport between Arab countries, and working on establishing the principle of equal treatment of Arab tourists as compared to nationals and not to distinguish between them in the prices of hotels, tickets, and fees for touristic sites and attractions.
These resolutions have also instructed the Council of Arab Transport Ministers to accelerate the development of an Arab agreement for the transport of passengers by road between Arab countries, to discuss possible means to reduce the requirements of entry visas for Arab nationals, to facilitate granting visas and ease restrictions on their duration by expediting the introduction of the necessary automated linkage systems.
The resolutions have also mandated Arab tourism and media ministers to coordinate with each other to undertake joint campaigns to highlight the cultural and social image of Arabs and Muslims globally, revitalizing and developing the tourism movement to the Arab region and increasing its effectiveness, supporting Arab tourism development and Arab tourism integration, emphasizing the role of Arab and regional financing institutions in financing the preparation of feasibility studies for joint Arab tourism projects in order to encourage the private sector to invest in it, reporting the reality of tourism in Arab countries and its requirements for its revitalization and proposals for its development, approving the general framework of the Arab tourism strategy, providing a favorable environment for investment in the tourism sector to encourage the Arab private sector to increase its investments in the sector and developing and rehabilitating Arab cadres working in the tourism industry, and the approval of the initiative to integrate tourism and cultural heritage in the Arab countries.
** This statement was issued by Dr. Bandar bin Fahd Al Fuhaid - President of the Arab Tourism Organization, Eng. Abdulnabi Manar - Director General of the Arab Civil Aviation Organization, and Mr. Abdul Wahab Teffaha - Secretary General of the Arab Air Carriers’ Organization.