COMCEC Tourism Outlook-2018
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By the groupings in the OIC Member Countries, it is observed that OIC-MENA has experienced
expansion in tourist arrivals for the period 2004-2016. In the same period, OIC-ASIA has
experienced growth in tourist arrivals. OIC- Sub Saharan Africa constitutes the smallest portion
of the international OIC Tourism. In terms of tourism receipts, OIC-MENA’s performance has
been greater than OIC- Sub Saharan Africa and OIC-Asia in the period 2004-2016. Yet the
preliminary statistics for 2018 oversees a larger growth in Africa and Asia.
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 issues are also important challenges for the OIC Region alongwith theWorld.
In this respect, COMCEC Tourism Working Group has focused on risk and crises management
issues in its 10th meeting in 2017. Furthermore, 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 considering 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 will be discussed
during the 13th meeting in 2019.
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
tourism performance in the Member Countries ranges from, among others, insufficient tourism-
related infrastructure and investments, unskilled tourism workforce to low-capacity tourism
administrations and problems in safety and security.
The COMCEC Strategy, provides a useful strategic framework for tourism development and
tourism cooperation in the Member Countries with its new implementation instruments,
namely, TourismWorking Group and Project Cycle Management mechanism.