Sharjah Commerce & Tourism Development Authority continues the success through its GCC Road Show

The GCC road show which is the 5th of its kind aims at promoting the Emirate and marketing the Summer Promotion 2006 with a goal of attracting more gulf tourists to Sharjah. This show will take into account 7 gulf destinations including the capitals of Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and Saudi Arabia; the last of which will feature an itinerary including Dammam and Jeddah.

This Road Show comes as part of SCTDA's on going effort to promote Sharjah as a unique cultural destination of heritage for the entire family, while strengthening its position and highlighting its profile amongst the other Gulf countries. The group that is headed by Mr. Mohamed A. Al Noman, Director of SCTDA, in addition to Sharjah Commerce & Tourism Development Authority includes Air Arabia, Sharjah Airport Travel Agency (SATA), Sharjah National Hotels, Radisson SAS Resort, Millennium Hotel, and Embassy Suites.

SCTDA prepared a series of specialized workshops with representatives from the tourism sector in the Emirate of Sharjah with the biggest travel and tourism companies in each of the capitals of Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar. Maintaining a continuous presence at these seminars was the Gulf wide media, who have to date been providing full coverage of the emirate's promotional visit and effectively adding to their popularity. The authority is continuing its road show to three remaining destinations in Saudi Arabia, which are Dammam, Jeddah, and Al Riyadh.

H.E. Mohamed A. Al Noman, Director of SCTDA, expressed the importance of this promotional tour noting that at present, the tourism sector in the Emirate of Sharjah is improving substantially, a fact confirmed by the increase in hotel occupancy rates; and that how at this time the tourism sector is playing a major role in supporting the local productivity of the emirate on a whole.

Al Noman expressed his happiness with what was achieved till now in the authority GCC road show, saying: "Thank God that this first stage of the tour has been a resounding success till now and we expect that the second stage including the three Saudi destinations, Dammam, Al Riyadh, and Jeddah will be even better. We realized that through this tour, many of the Gulf nations already view the Emirate of Sharjah as a cultural and traditional place to visit. Thus what these workshops have achieved is to create an additional awareness of what we have to offer and emphasize to them why Sharjah is such an ideal destination."

What distinguishes this promotional road show from previous tours is the cooperation and collective effort across Sharjah's entire tourism sector in providing competitive holiday packages. This comes at the time when the SCTDA, Sharjah Economic Development Department, and Sharjah Chamber of Commerce & Industry are organizing and preparing for the Sharjah Summer promotion 2006 www.myssp.ae , which will include discounts and offers and various special events in order to encourage shopping between June 15th and 31st August.

"SCTDA is willing to support and participate in the economic progress of Sharjah through strong marketing and promotional campaigns, with a focus on the uniqueness of our city and its intricate blend of the past and the future." said Mr. Mohamed A. Al Noman. "Sharjah's commercial sector is rapidly developing and has so far this year witnessed the opening of a great number of shopping malls and hotels, with more commercial malls and hotels to be opened later this year, which will enrich this sector for sure".

At a time when the Emirate of Sharjah is now being recognized on the world tourism map, SCTDA through its various activities and events hopes to continue attracting international, regional, and local interest. They state that this Gulf promotional road show will create more opportunity for the emirate of Sharjah and highlight its attractions. From the result of past tours across the Gulf, Sharjah is still benefiting from its success to this day.