Nothing but the 'BEST' for Gulf Air

Organised by the Ministry of Tourism Oman under the auspices of the World Tourism Organisation and UNESCO, the event will take place from 5 to 8 February 2005 at the Al Bustan Palace Hotel, Muscat.

In the last few weeks, Gulf Air has demonstrated its full commitment to tourism development in its three owner states by supporting three major tourism initiatives - title sponsorship of the Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix 2005 (Kingdom of Bahrain) and the Al Ain Aerobatics Show 2005 (Abu Dhabi) and now the BEST conference (Oman).

"The promotion of the region and specifically our owner states remains high on our agenda," said John Butler, Vice President - Marketing and Sales at Gulf Air. "The tourism and recreation industry is increasingly concerned about its sustainability and in Oman, where the industry has grown dramatically over the last decade; such concerns are expanding in importance, because of the contribution the industry makes to the state's economy as a whole."

"The industry relies extensively on Oman's natural and cultural heritage, and it is therefore important to protect and manage this asset to ensure that tourism is indeed sustainable. The Ministry's initiative in staging this conference is to be applauded, and Gulf Air offers its full support to this and all future enterprises," he concluded.

Since Gulf Air embarked on its recovery plan more than two years ago, the airline has worked hard on a wide range of initiatives and programmes to promote the economic development of the region, most specifically in the development of tourism and will continue to do so.

"Gulf Air has an important role to play in all aspects of tourism," adds Butler. "And we are investing substantial sums in new programmes. We will also work closely with all the relevant government departments and tourism authorities to ensure their long term sustainability."

Among the objectives of the four-day conference is to identify principles, guidelines and specific criteria that can be applied to the design of resorts, hotels and other tourism infrastructure in order to guarantee the authenticity of the tourism offering in the region and its long term sustainability, as well as to maintain the distinctive character of cities, vernacular architecture, and local communities and contribute to making the tourism industry in Oman a sustainable activity, cooperating to the overall development of the country.