Dubai to host the '1st International Forum on the Development of Special Needs People's Tourism in the Middle East'

The forum, the first ever in the Middle East, aims at launching the largest enlightenment campaign to be seen by the region. The campaign is intended to highlight the importance of this tourist slice that constitutes over 10% of the total number of tourist in the world, and press for the provision of more tourist, recreation and infrastructure facilities that adequately meet the needs of special needs people and be capable of securing appropriate hospitality and recreation services to them.

This goal acquires significance in the light of increasing tourist enterprises planned over the forthcoming five years in the region, and which are estimated to cost hundreds of billions of dollars. These enterprises are styled to cater for international state-of-the-art innovations in the hoteliary sector and hospitality services, and the U.A.E in general and Dubai in particular will have the largest share of them at a total investment of AED 250-300 billion.

H.H Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed will inaugurate the forum that lasts one day under the theme "The tourism of special needs people in the Middle East - challenges and missed opportunities" on the 4th of next May, at the forum's hall in the World Trade Centre, Dubai, at 10:00 am. The forum, will continue until 14:00 pm, will be attended by a large number of senior officials, Arab ministers of tourism, international tourism officials, officials from airports and airlines, and agents of travel and touring agencies and handicapped centres.

The World Tourism Organization puts the number of tourists from this category to above 10% from the total number of tourists worldwide, whereas the World Labour Organization mentioned in a report published in 2000 that the number of special needs people exceeds 610 million, 400 millions of them live in developing countries.

Commenting on this event, Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the forum's sponsor, said "Once more, Dubai moves additional steps on the road of developing tourism and travel industry in Arab countries. Dubai launched in the past decade the Travel Market Exhibition, which became one of the most important exhibitions on tourism around the world. Now, Dubai newly embraces a new international forum with the purpose of contributing to upgrading the ability of tourism and travel industry in the region to respond flexibly to the requirements of a tourist slice that enjoys a special international significance, namely the tourist slice of special needs people."

He added, "This forum derives its importance from the fact that it is the first forum in the Middle East that discusses the means of developing the concepts, strategies, legislations, facilities and services extended by tourism industry to this slice, not only in the region but also in different countries of the world. I expect big success for this forum, which would be among the important for a on the Arab for a map."

His Highness continued, "Despite the economic importance of this tourist slice and its impact on the growth of Arab and international tourism, the general strategy promoted by the forum, i.e. tourism for all, and which is put before investors and the makers of the tourist decision in the region urges them to take into account the humanitarian and social sides, as all bear the responsibility of upgrading the services and adding more of them so that all enjoy the delights of life and free movement."

Recent statistics indicated that the number of special needs people in the Arab World exceeded 30 millions. People involved in the tourist sector say that the scarcity of Arab tourist installations that have enough facilities to meet the needs of those people is the impediment that preoccupies millions of handicapped people who think of going out of their countries and move between different countries in the region to benefit from recreation opportunities. They admit that this shortage deprives tourism industry of additional revenue, given that the tourism of special needs people takes place within a family and not an individual frame, and prevents families from traveling as a whole and enjoying travel packages. They add that the value of missed opportunities lost by Arab tourism reaches $3 billion (AED 12 million) a year. They say' "If only 10%, i.e. 3 million tourists, of the total number of special needs people in Arab countries spent approximately $1000 per person, the total spending of this slice estimated to its lowest levels would be promising opportunities that with little effort and creating some new services would enhance Arab tourism and create tens of thousands of jobs a year."

According to a report compiled by the World Bank, handicapped people represent 10-20% of the total population of each country in the world, and this percentage will progressively increase during the years to come, because of wars, poverty, insufficient health care, low birth rate, and increasing senility. The report pointed out that the number of special needs people in Europe is estimated to 40 million, over 54 million in U.S.A and 11 million in Russia, which will rise to 15 million during the few coming years.

A report prepared by American Inter Active Corporation mentioned that Europe and U.S.A are preparing themselves for meeting the needs of this slice of tourists, and that travel and touring agents began in turn planning for the provision of more appropriate tourist options tailored specially for this slice in view of the magnitude of the market and growing demand. The report remarket also that growth in the number of those tourist in Europe and U.S.A created more than 300,000 job opportunities in different fields of tourist services, and that American tourists only spent $13.6 billion on 31.7 million trips during the year 2002.

H.H Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum is expected, in his inaugural word, to draw attention to the fact that these figures require all to lay down the plans that tend to increase the number of tourist utilities and facilities that observe the rights of this tourist slice, especially in that the region in embarking on a tourist boom following the announcement of the projected building of hundreds of hotels, resorts and tourist utilities during the coming five years. This requires the allocation of a part of the facilities and installations of those hotels and resorts to meet the requirements of these tourists.

The forum is welcomed by the majority of people concerned with tourism industry in the U.A.E, where hundreds of hotels and tourist installations are being constructed employing investments of more than AED 250 billion in total. This huge effort in intended to keep pace with accelerating tourist surge, as Dubai only seeks attracting about 15 million tourists with the advent of the year 2010.

The forum, organised by Media Hub for Exhibition Organization & Public Relations, will no doubt help make hotels and other tourist installations better know the importance of this slice of tourists, and consequently enact the laws and legislations that pave the way for developing the installations and increasing the number of tourist utilities, centres, resorts and rooms that satisfy the future needs and requirements of these tourists, as the volume of tourist investments budgeted for enhancing the tourist sector in the region reaches billions of dollars over the coming five years. The forum will also be useful in presenting mutual visions and ideas for giving a better position to these tourists in the future.

Speakers in the forum will tackle the role of the governmental and private sectors in the means of improving the services offered to this slice of tourists, paying more attention to their welfare and meeting their needs and the needs of their families, enlightening and training the employees of the tourist sector on the best ways of dealing with them and the type of services they need, the role of airports, shopping centres, airlines and travel and touring agents in this domain. They will also speak about the importance of travel as a curative and psychological means fir these slices, especially the young, the tasks of the media regarding enlightenment in this field and the need to the legislations and facilities that urge special needs people to travel and get acquainted with tourist features in the Arab World. Finally, the forum targets drawing the attention of Arab governments to the necessity of creating tourist installations suitable to special needs people and giving catalysts to investors in order increase their investments in this socially and economically vital sector.