AWTTE 2004 to be held in Beirut, October 7-10

Prince Al-Walid will participate in the opening ceremony and later be available for a dialogue session with participants.

Also being honored in Al-Iktissad Wal-Aamal Group's Lifetime Achievement Award ceremony is HE Sheikh Tarek Al-Qasimi, Chairman of Sharjah Economic Development in recognition of his remarkable efforts in promoting Sharjah as a tourist destination.

Mr. Akbar Al-Baker, Chairman of the Qatar Tourism Agency and CEO of Qatar Airways, will also be honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award for the outstanding performance the airline has rapidly achieved in the field of tourism under his leadership.

A prominent delegation from the State of Qatar will participate in AWTTE 2004, which will be held in Beirut from October 7-10, under the patronage of Lebanese President H.E. General Emile Lahoud.

Mr. Al-Baker will also speak at the conference in a session on the vital role played by aviation companies in the promotion of Arab tourism. Qatar Airways has also signed up for a pavilion at the Exhibition to include Travel and Tourism businesses highlighting Qatar's tourist attractions and activities.

The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan will be the Exhibition's guest of honor and will be assigned one of the largest pavilions at AWTTE 2004.

Mr. Raouf Abou-Zaki, the General Director of Al-Iktissad Wal-Aamal Group, said that the support of HE President Emile Lahoud and the participation of HE Prince Al-Walid Bin Talal along with the participation of a large number of Arab tourism ministers and hundreds of Arab and international companies were very important factors in helping to create a distinguished and successful event. 'The success of AWTTE,' said Mr. Abou-Zaki, 'comes at a time when pan-Arab tourism is witnessing noticeable development, something that helps attract significant investment to Arab tourism sectors due to the increase in demand.'

HE Ali Hussein Abdallah, Lebanon's Minister of Tourism said, 'we are proud of the developments that have taken place this year with regard to the considerable increase of expected participants in both the conference and the exhibition. We hope this progress will continue and we're convinced that such gatherings and events can greatly contribute to the activation and reinforcement of tourism and investment in Lebanon, and we hope that AWTTE will help us achieve this end.'

Al-Iktissad Wal-Aamal Group and the Lebanese Ministry of Tourism organize AWTTE 2004 Conference and Exhibition in cooperation with Middle East Airlines.

The Conference will devote much of its deliberations to the Arab air transport companies and their role in tourism promotion, the current status and outlook of Arab tourism, promotion polices and the role of large-scale projects in tourism development.

The Exhibition, which consists of about 18 national pavilions, includes 200 companies representing international, regional and local hotel groups, travel and tourism agencies, national, regional and private aviation companies, and land tourism transport companies, in addition to finance and investment institutions.

The number of Conference participants is expected to reach around 600 people from 20 Arab and international countries. Some of the largest Arab companies will contribute to the sponsorship of the Conference including the Saudi Holding Company, the Metropolitan Palace Hotel, Real Estate TV, Middle East Airlines, in addition to the Jordanian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.