GCC tour expected to significantly boost Sharjah tourism

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 Gulf nations. The show included 7 Gulf destinations including the capitals of Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and Saudi Arabia; the last of which featured an itinerary including Dammam and Jeddah.

The participants of the road show headed by H.E Mohamed A. Al Noman, Director of SCTDA, in addition to Air Arabia, Sharjah Airport Travel Agency (SATA), Sharjah National Hotels, Radisson SAS Resort, Millennium Hotel, and Embassy Suites.

H.E Mohamed A. Al Noman expressed the important significance of this promotional tour, noting the great presence of all the aforementioned Sharjah representatives, in addition to the level of interest expressed by several of the large travel and tourism companies from the various Gulf capitals to know about Sharjah's special summer event, the Summer Promotion 2006.

He added: "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, 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 with its intricate blend of the past and the future and to move forward with the fast progress occurring in the tourism and commercial sector in the emirate." said Mr. Mohamed A. Al Noman.

The Emirate of Sharjah is considered one the best tourism places in the region for the Gulf tourist, where they accounted for 30% of tourism to the emirate during the past year. This figure is expected to increase in the summer of 2006, emphasizing the importance of their presence in this important market and the need to provide more special offers to this market segment through the continuous promotional plans, and the providing of a variety of tourism products to its visitors and tourists from different countries.

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 Sharjah and highlight its attractions. From the result of past tours across the Gulf, Sharjah is still benefiting from its success to this day.