Building a “real” tourism industry was the focal point of the discussions held Sunday during a meeting of the Supreme Council of Tourism that was chaired by Prime Minister Wael al-Halki.
Such an industry, the premier said, needs to be established in cooperation with the private sector and is needed to prop up the economy and provide new job opportunities, which will in turn contribute to achieving sustainable comprehensive development.
While calling for the establishment of tourism industry, Halki clarified that several factors are required to achieve that end, chief among those, he said, are amending legislations, developing human resources and providing the suitable infrastructure.
No less important, he added, is the work to promote internal and popular tourism.
He noted that the discussion of the tourism situation comes within an effort which the government has recently embarked on to assess the situation of all sectors, detect points of weakness and address corruption cases so as to prepare all the national sectors for the post-crisis reconstruction stage .
On his part, Tourism Minister Bishr Yazig, presented a preview of the tourism sector and its problems.
Tourism projects which were targeted by the armed terrorist organizations and the possibility of rescheduling loans for late payers were a major discussion point.
Translated and edited by The Syrian Observer
