Sustainable Destination Management
Strategies in the OIC Member Countries
61
In many instances, the planning and establishment of the OIC MDTCs involved support from
development agencies and regional associations, whether in terms of spearheading research
needed for corridor theme development, determining the viability and feasibility of the
corridor, and providing a platform for consultation with the various stakeholders during the
development phase. An example of this is the Silk Road which was initially championed by the
UNESCO before being adopted by UNWTO, which researched its potential as a tourism
destination.188
Regional organizations have also played an instrumental role in the establishment of the OIC
MDTCs. Examples of this include the East African Community support for the East Africa
Northern Corridor. In some instances, corridors that have member countries from the OIC and
non-OIC member countries and regional organizations with a majority of non-OIC member
countries have played an important part in the development of MDTCs, as in the case of the
Umayyad Route which was supported by the European Union.189
Demand Analysis
Estimating demand is an important step in planning MDTCs to assess their viability. As the
graph below shows, the number of tourists visiting the OIC countries has been steadily
increasing since 2000, reaching 174.3 million in 2016 and accounting for 8.9% of the world’s
total tourist arrivals. The number of tourists from the OIC countries has also increased from
18.4 million in 2000 to 67.7 million in 2017, accounting for 38.8% of tourists’ arrivals. In terms
of the OIC countries’ tourism receipts, they amounted to $147.4 billion in 2016, accounting for
10.8% of the world’s tourism receipts, which marked a slight decrease in share from 2010.190
Figure 20: OIC Tourist Arrivals and Tourism Receipts (2000-2016)
Source: SESRIC (2018)
188 Shackley, Myra. 2002. The Frankincense Route: A proposed cultural itinerary for the Middle East. Historic Environment,
v.16 (2): 12-17.
189 ENPI CBCMED Website.
190 SESRIC. 2018. Prospects and Challenges of OIC Member Countries: SWOT Outlook 2018.