Sustainable Destination Management
Strategies in the OIC Member Countries
5
Table 2: Infrastructure Assessment - Best Practices versus OIC Examples
Best
Practices
- The Greater Mekong Subregion TC study reviewed the infrastructure along the
nodes of the corridor and transportation networks to identify ports and
landings along the river that needed improvement.
- The Eurail pass provided by railways of Europe connects the railway
networks of 27 countries and facilitates travel between European countries
using a single pass, which supports the development of TCs in the region.
OIC - Efforts being made to improve connectivity in Africa with the Standard Gauge
Railway project and the Dakar-Port Sudan railway.
- In Kazakhstan, the state highways program “Nurlijol” planned to improve
accessibility to different nodes along the Silk Road TC as well as a railway
connection between Tashkent to Turkestan.
Social Value Assessment: Engaging local stakeholders and ensuring their support of the
corridor, as shown by in the ATRIUM and Wadden Sea TCs, is also essential for the success of
MDTCs. The examples from the OIC MDTCs, as shown in the following table in the examples of
the Abraham Path and the Umayyad Route, also show efforts to engage stakeholders in
establishing the corridors, especially in terms of providing local communities with added value.
Both the Abraham Path and the Umayyad Route have supported the development of
community-based tourism initiatives.
Table 3: Social Value Assessment - Best Practices versus OIC Examples
Best
Practices
- The Wadden Sea TC research to explore potential local communities’
opposition to new conservation regulations associated with the corridor.
- The ATRIUM route consultation with local communities in the development
of TC. In Italy, the Municipality of Forlì conducted research to ensure that
residents accepted the promotion of this controversial tourism product.
OIC - Abraham Path supporting local communities in the development of
guesthouses using a “shared cost approach.”
- Umayyad Route support for community-based tourism initiatives and local
handicrafts.
Theme Formulation: Examples from global MDTCs, summarized in the following table,
suggest the successful planning and establishment of MDTCs involves extensive research with
the aid of experts fromhistorical, cultural and practical perspectives to formulate the corridor’s
theme and assess its potential tourism assets, as in the case of the Prehistoric Rock Art Trails.
The OIC MDTCs seem to also be performing well on theme formulation and asset identification
as well as stakeholder engagement in the planning and establishment of corridors.
The existing OIC MDTCs, as shown in the examples of the Silk Road and the Umayyad Route,
have equally succeeded largely with support from international and regional organizations in
formulating the themes and identifying the tourism resources to be included in the corridors.
In the case of the Holy Family TC, the Coptic Church in Egypt played an important role in
identifying the sites to be included in the corridor.