COMCEC Tourism Outlook-2019
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submit projects to be financed through grants by the COMCEC Coordination Office. The first
project call was made in September 2013. Within the framework of the 1st project call under the
COMCEC Project Funding, 2 projects in tourism sector were successfully implemented in 2014.
One of them was “Cities of Common Cultural Heritage” project implemented by Azerbaijan
Ministry of Culture and Tourism. There were 3 partner countries namely; Turkey, Uzbekistan
and Kazakhstan in this project. The project aimed at creating a joint cultural tourism product
and at the end of the project with the help of the analytical study prepared as an outcome of the
project, cultural heritage routes were created. The other project was “Improving Statistical
Capacities of Tourism Sector in COMCEC Mediterranean and Gulf Region” proposed by SESRIC.
The project covered 6 member countries namely; United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Tunisia,
Albania, Qatar, Oman. This project aimed at improving statistical capacities of the member
countries in tourism field and entailed 8 training programs and one workshop in this respect.
The second project call under the PCM was made in September 2014. In this regard, within the
scope of the 2nd Project Call, the project titled “Strengthening Community Resilience through
eco-tourism”, proposed by The Gambia, was implemented in 2015 with two project partners,
namely Senegal and Guinea-Bissau. Under this project, study visits to ten villages were
conducted. Moreover, Ecovillage Design Education Programs were held with the participation
of 35 residents from these villages. At the end of this project, an Ecovillage Design Education
Report was prepared.
The Third Project Call was made in September 2015. In this framework, the following two
projects was implemented in 2016:
 Short course on strategies in enhancing the tourism workforce in community-based
tourism within the OIC Member Countries (proposed by Malaysia).
 Enhancing the capacity of craft producers in the OIC Member Countries (proposed by
the Gambia).
Since than several other tourism related projects such as “Improving Human Capacity onMuslim
Friendly Tourism for Regulating Accommodation Establishments in the OIC Member Countries”
by Mozambique; “Study on Effective Strategies to Establish Sustainable Muslim Friendly
Tourism Parks in Selected OIC Member Countries” by Iran; “Destination Management
Organization: Conceptual Framework for Azerbaijan, Cameroon and Iran” by
Azerbaijan; “Developing Muslim-Friendly Tourism in Guyana and Suriname” by ICDT; “Capacity
Building on DestinationManagement Organizations of OIC Member Countries” byMali; Training
of Accommodation Providers in the OIC Member Countries on Muslim Friendly Tourism
Standards and Quality Service Provision” by Gambia.
The COMCEC Coordination Office made the seventh call for project proposals with a deadline in
September 2019. More detailed information on the COMCEC Project Funding mechanism can be
reached through the COMCEC PCM Website: ).