COMCEC Tourism Outlook-2018
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the TourismWorking Group. The relevant OIC institutions and some scholars have also attended
the Meeting. The representatives of the Member States have shared their experiences,
achievements and challenges in implementing the Community-Based Tourism (CBT) Programs
in their respective countries. The Meeting has considered the Studies namely “Community Based
Tourism: Finding the Equilibrium in the COMCEC Context” commissioned by the COMCEC
Coordination Office and the “Tourism Outlook 2013” prepared by the COMCEC Coordination
Office. The outcomes of the Meeting were published by the COMCEC Coordination Office with
the document titled the “Proceedings of the 1st Meeting of the Tourism Working Group”,
available on the COMCEC website .
The 2nd Meeting of the COMCEC Tourism Working Group was held on October 3rd, 2013 in
Ankara, Turkey with the theme of “Tourism Product Development and Marketing Strategies in the
OIC Member Countries.” The Meeting was attended by the representatives of 11 Member States,
which have notified their focal points for the TourismWorking Group and representatives of the
COMCEC Coordination Office, SESRIC and Islamic Center for Development of Trade (ICDT) and
some private sector representatives. The COMCEC Tourism Outlook and an analytical study
namely “Tourism Product Development and Marketing Strategies” have been prepared and
submitted to the Meeting. The representatives of the Member States have shared their
experiences, achievements and challenges in tourism product development and marketing
strategies in their respective countries as well as explore cooperation potential among each
other. The Meeting highlighted that tourism product development and marketing requires
effective collaboration among different stakeholders. It was stressed that because of its
competitive nature, effective marketing requires utilization of the full range of tools available
including among others PR activities, e-marketing, social media, and so on. Some
recommendations have been made for enhancing cooperation among the Member Countries in
the field of product development and marketing. These were, among others, introducing award
programs, conducting joint exhibitions, developing joint tourism products, organizing exchange
programs for experts and developing joint data base for tourism products among the Member
Countries. Moreover, Proceedings of the Second Meeting of the Tourism Working Group, which
reflects the outcomes of the Meeting was prepared and published on the COMCEC Website
.
The 3rd Meeting of the COMCEC Tourism Working Group was held on March 4th, 2014 in
Ankara, Turkey with the theme of “Enabling Tourism Investment Climate in the OIC Member
Countries.” The Meeting was attended by the representatives of 14 Member States, which have
notified their focal points for the TourismWorking Group and representatives of SESRIC, Islamic
Center for Development of Trade (ICDT), International Finance Corporation (IFC) and
representatives from private sector. The Representatives of the Member States have shared
their experiences, achievements and challenges regarding tourism investments in their
respective countries. Moreover, the Studies titled “Enabling Tourism Investment Climate:
Challenges and Prospects for Tourism Investments in the OIC Member Countries” commissioned
by the COMCEC Coordination Office and the “COMCEC Tourism Outlook 2014” prepared by the
COMCEC Coordination Office were the main inputs for enriching the discussions during the
Meeting. The presentations and deliberations made during the meeting highlighted that
governments play a crucial role for creating an enabling investment climate for tourism
investors. It was stressed that creating an enabling tourism investment climate requires