COMCEC Tourism Outlook-2019
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 The importance of enhancing the capacity of tourism workforce in the member
countries.
The policy recommendations of the 4th Meeting of the TourismWorking Group were submitted
to the 30th Ministerial Session of the COMCEC held on 25-28 November 2014 in İstanbul. The
30th Session of the COMCEC commended the efforts of the Working Groups towards
approximating policies among the Member States in their field of competence and took note of
the policy recommendations of the TourismWorking Group.
The 5th Meeting of COMCEC Tourism Working Group was held with the theme of “Travel
Facilitation for Enhancing Mobility in the OIC Member Countries” on February 5th, 2015. In line
with the recommendations of the analytical study and the responses of the Member Countries
to the policy questions, which were circulated before the Meeting, the Working Group put
forward two policy recommendations in the meeting:
 Encouraging visa facilitation among the Member Countries;
 Developing air linkages and increasing the airline capacity were highlighted by tourism
working group.
The 6th Meeting of the Tourism Working Group was held on September 3rd, 2015 with theme
of “Effective TourismMarketing Strategies: ICT-Based Solutions for the OIC Member Countries.”
The Representatives of the Member States have shared their experiences, achievements and
challenges on ICT-based tourism marketing in their respective countries. The Meeting has
considered the Studies "Effective TourismMarketing Strategies: ICT-Based Solutions for the OIC
Member Countries" commissioned by the COMCEC Coordination Office and the "COMCEC
TourismOutlook 2015" prepared by the COMCEC Coordination Office. The Meeting has come up
with a set of policy recommendations:
 Building and Strengthening a Skilled Workforce on ICT-Based TourismMarketing in the
Member Countries
 Enhancing cooperation between the government and private sector on ICT usage and
diffusion in tourism marketing
 Developing comprehensive and effective digital marketing strategies in the Member
Countries
7th Meeting of the Tourism Working Group was held on 4 February 2016 with the theme of
“Muslim Friendly Tourism: Understanding the Demand and Supply Sides in the OIC Member
Countries”. The Tourism Working Group provided the opportunity to thoroughly discuss the
main concepts and the general overview of Muslim-friendly tourism from a policy perspective.
In line with the recommendations of the analytical study, as well as the responses of the Member
Countries to the policy questions that were circulated before the Meeting, the Working Group
put forward the following policy recommendations:
 Developing basic guidelines for improving the basic MFT-related services.
 Increasing awareness about the MFT market among the travel industry stakeholders
through standardizing terminology used in MFT, introducing market awareness and
customer service training programs and utilizing social media for promotion and
marketing.