COMCEC Tourism Outlook-2019
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The share of international tourism receipts in the total exports of each member country
indicates that tourism plays a significant role in the economies of member countries and
constitutes an important source of foreign exchange earnings.
By the groupings in the OIC Member Countries, it is observed that OIC-MENA has experienced
expansion in tourist arrivals for the period 2004-2018 particularly during 2018 OIC-Mena
recorded a 21% growth. In the same period, OIC-ASIA has experienced a slight decrease in
tourist arrivals. OIC- Sub Saharan Africa on the other hand continued its stable growth. In terms
of tourism receipts, both OIC-MENA and OIC-Asia increased their tourism income whereas there
was a slight decrease in OIC- Sub Saharan Africa’s receipts in 2018.
In 2015, it was estimated that there were 117 million Muslim international travelers. This is
projected to grow to 168 million by 2020, where the travel expenditure by Muslim travelers is
expected to exceed USD 200 billion (CrescentRating, 2016). The COMCEC Tourism Working
Group has also explored Muslim Friendly Tourism (MFT) potential in its three consecutive
meetings. The 7 th Tourism Working Group was held on February 4 th, 2016, with the theme of
“Muslim Friendly Tourism (MFT): Understanding the Demand and Supply Side in the OIC Member
Countries.” A research report was prepared on the theme of the meeting, which mainly focused
on creating awareness about MFT as well as the developments regarding the demand and supply
side of MFT in the Member Countries. This report, as well as the Member Country
representatives during the 7th Working Group Meeting highlighted some major challenges faced
by the member countries. In addition to the demand and supply sides of MFT, COMCEC analyzed
product development and marketing aspects of MFT products and services and developing
regulations for accommodation establishments to improve MFT among OIC member states.
These were covered during the 8th and 9th TourismWorking Group Meetings.
Safety and security concerns are in the spotlight for OIC member states. COMCEC looked into
risk and crises management issues in 2017. Governments should work hard to ensure the safety
of tourists and to minimize the impact of security threats. Incidents like the sector observed in
2015 and 2016 should need careful planning and management. These will all be tackled during
the 10th Tourism Working Group Meeting in September, 2017. Destinations are amalgam of
services and products that tourists consume as a whole. It is evident that if properly planned
and managed tourism cooperation could play a significant role in the socio-economic
development of the Member Countries. COMCEC is also looking into destination planning,
management and marketing issues from 2018 onwards. The governance of destinations has
been covered during the 11th meeting and their marketing role will be covered in September,
2018 during the 12th Tourism Working Group Meeting in Ankara. The sustainability of
destinations and creating a balance between the needs of the industry, the environment and
locals were covered during the 13th meeting in Feb. 2019. The 14 th meeting to be held on 31th
Oct. 2019 will focus on creating, marketing and managing multi-destination tourism corridors
in OIC.
The strength of the US dollar relative to other currencies is shifting the price competitiveness
among destinations and improving accessibility, developments in technology and e-commerce
will also affect market share and rankings of destinations. Obstacles faced in tourism
development are diverse in the Member Countries as each country has its own tourism features,
level of development and national development priorities and policies. The challenges affecting