COMCEC Tourism Outlook 2017

main COMCEC tourist destinations. The remaining OIC Member Countries’ tourist arrivals and

tourism receipts data are given in Appendix (Table 1 and Table 2) based on 2015 data, as most

OIC member statistics are not yet available for 2016.

Turkey hosted 39.5 million tourists in 2015. Because of the recent developments, terrorist

activity and attempted coup, the country has suffered in terms of inbound arrivals in 2015 and

2016. Necessary measures are taken by the government in order to recover from the decrease

in tourist arrivals. Almost 25%of the arrivals were lost in 2016 in Turkey, signs of recovery from

the beginning of 2017 is evident but Turkey’s recovery considering tourism receipts seems to

be slower. UAE recorded and increase from 10 million to almost 15 million. Malaysia also

recorded a slight increase. Malaysia introduced online visa applications for its major markets.

Awareness of the country's many attractions is improving and international transport

connections are expanding, making Malaysia much more accessible to potential visitors. As

number of visitors to Malaysia increases over time, it is expected that investment in the hotel

and accommodation sector will expand. Moreover, Malaysia Airlines and Emirates Airlines are

launching a widespread code-share partnership in 2016, expanding Malaysia Airlines' access to

European destinations and Emirates' access to various destinations in Asia (BMI Research,

2016).

Saudi Arabia reported a slight increase in 2016. Following the tragic loss of life in the September

2015 stampede during a Hajj ritual outside of Mecca, the government, having come under

significant international criticism for its handling of the event, has committed to major

investments in transport, safety and accommodation infrastructure in order to support the rapid

expected expansion in international arrivals each year for religious pilgrimage. The government

is reportedly considering easing visa restrictions to encourage more international tourism

arrivals. Further, the outlook for sector has arguably brightened following the launch in April

2016 of the government's economic diversification strategy, referred to as Vision 2030.

Religious pilgrimages remain the largest source of inbound tourism to Saudi Arabia and the

government continues to invest in supporting infrastructure such as the 450km high speed rail

network connecting Madinah with Makkah, King Abdullah Economic City and Jeddah (BMI

Research, 2016).

Indonesia recovered from the impact of large scale forest fires which started in July 2015 and

also affected some of its neighbors, especially Malaysia and Singapore, where smoke and haze

caused an important problem (UNWTO, 2016d). The tourism industry in Indonesia is growing

rapidly, benefiting from proximity to major regional markets, an expanding luxury hotel sector

and greater international air connectivity. Also supporting growth in the tourism sector is

ongoing and widespread government led investment in transport infrastructure which is

gradually improving accessibility across Indonesia's many islands. Indonesia's Tourism

Ministry has announced new tourism policies aimed at increasing the volume of international

visitors - aiming, for example, for 1mn Japanese tourists annually and 20mn visitors from the

Middle East annually by 2019. In order to support this growth Indonesia has introduced visa

free travel for visitors from 90 countries allowing a 30-day tourism stay for many markets

including Saudi Arabia and India (BMI Research, 2016).