Yemen turns to tourism

SANAA 28 June, 20010 — Yemen, the poorest country in the Arab world, is turning to tourism to boost economic development and has sought support from the UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) for the effort.

If the plans succeed, the country will attract Asian tourism investors and hotel groups, especially those seeking exotic new destinations in which to plant a flag.

Last week, the UNWTO convened a meeting of its Middle East Commission for the first time in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa, where about US$1.4 million worth of projects were presented for approval under a UNWTO programme aimed at alleviating poverty through tourism. These ranged from handicrafts development to training programmes for guesthouse staff as well as a number of marketing and management-related projects.

According to a UNWTO report, Yemen is by far the poorest country in the Middle East. In 2006 it was ranked 138 out of 179 countries worldwide based on the Human Development Index and 35% of the population fell below the national poverty line. UNDP currently state that over 45% of people live on less than US$ 2 a day.

While poverty was declining in urban areas it has persisted in the countryside. Yemen is in 156th place out of 157 countries in the Gender Development Index, reflecting low levels of education and economic empowerment of women compared to men.

In 2009, Yemen received 433,921 international tourist arrivals from non-Yemenis and a further 594,206 arrivals from Yemenis living abroad, amounting to just over 1m in total. This level of international tourism amounts to 1.9 % of tourism arrivals in the Middle East.

Of the non-Yemeni international tourism arrivals, a large majority (68%) are from other countries in the Middle East and over half of these are from Saudi Arabia. Europe provides the second most important source of tourists, accounting for 10% of non-Yemeni arrivals. The average length of stay for international tourists is around 8 nights.

Official statistics show an average growth rate of international incoming tourism of around 10% per annum over the last five years. However, non-regional international tourism has been badly affected by recent security concerns.

Data from 2008 suggested that domestic hotel guests were one and a half times as numerous as international hotel guests. However, as many will stay with family or in other forms of accommodation, domestic tourism is estimated to be around 2.4 times the size of international tourism in terms of trips.

In 2008 there were some 23,000 hotel rooms, but this is almost twice the capacity recorded in 2004. The Ministry of Tourism estimated that tourism contributed around USD 453m to GDP in 2008.

The UNWTO report says that Yemen’s historic, cultural and natural assets include three UNESCO world heritage cities, widespread vernacular architecture, cultural traditions, fine mountain scenery, desert experiences, undeveloped coastal areas and biodiversity areas, notably Socotra Island.

It says that recognition of these tourism assets and concern over falling and finite oil revenue and limited alternative sources of wealth has led to the Government placing a high priority on tourism development.

Tourism is underlined in the country Strategic Vision 2025. The Socio-Economic Development Plan for Poverty Reduction (2006 10) identified tourism as one of five promising and productive sectors, and this recognition appears to have been maintained in more recent reviews.

However, the many challenges facing the sector are also recognised, such as security issues, quality of infrastructure and facilities, lack of tourism expertise (notably in small businesses and handicraft sectors) and need for institutional strengthening and private sector engagement and investment.

The Ministry of Tourisms national tourism strategy for 2010 to 2025 lists the priorities such: strengthening the institutional structure; sustainable development of the product; encouraging investment; improving quality of services; human resource development; developing tourism awareness and security; and marketing and promotion.

It says, poverty alleviation has been seen as an overarching objective of tourism. Areas of strategic importance include product diversification, handicraft development, tourism training, and promotional activity including in the Gulf states and other Arab countries.

The UNWTO says some development projects are underway, mainly in the form of new hotels with private investment, which would create new jobs. The Ministry of Tourism has identified various sites for tourism development but, the report adds, while conceptual drawings have been prepared for some of them, there is generally a lack of business planning and market assessment associated with the sites.

The report adds, in all the areas visited during the (UNWTO study) mission there were NGOs supporting groups of women who were engaged in various socio-economic activities, including the production of handicraft items. Most groups were also providing important welfare support to women and families aimed directly at the poorest in society.

The presence of tourism officers from the Ministry of Tourism in each Governorate provides an opportunity, but generally they have quite limited professional capacity and budgets. Local involvement of the private sector and other stakeholders appears to be weak and haphazard, the report says.