COMCEC Tourism Outlook-2016
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According to the Table 4.2, Turkey ranks as 5th, Malaysia as 15th, Morocco as 22th and Indonesia
as 25th country by major surplus on the travel balance in international tourismmarket. In 2015,
Turkey’s tourism receipts were US$ 26.6 billion, however Turkish citizens spent US$ 5.4 billion
in other countries. This means that US$ 21.2 billion stayed in the country as a surplus on the
travel balance. This surplus is very important for countries as a source of foreign exchange in
their economies. It can be realized from the Table 4.2 that some countries have a tendency to
spend more than their tourism receipts. It is obvious that the majority of these countries are the
main OIC international tourism destinations and earners. It is also observed that the balance of
international tourism of some member countries accounts for a high percentage of their
international tourism receipts. For example, countries like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar have
deficits on travel balance.
As it can be noted, safety and security concerns are in the spotlight for OIC member states, and
it is assumed that these issues will continue to cause difficulties in the years ahead. 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 not stop people travelling around
the world. The strength of the US dollar relative to other currencies is shifting the price
competitiveness among destinations and will affect market share and rankings of destinations.