Brussels, 13/11/2014 (Agence Europe) - “Despite the epidemics and other crises, tourism continues to grow throughout the world and generated €902 billion”. The revenue, “even reaches a figure of €1,100 billion if the benefits in passenger transport are counted”. As part of this scoreboard, the Mediterranean remains the, “most popular destination in the world in terms of international tourism, as well as at a domestic level”. These are the observations made at the end of the annual “Economic Mediterranean Week” in Marseilles from 5-8 November.
Michel Julian, the coordinator for trends and marketing strategies at the World Tourism Organisation (WTO) said that, “in 2013, international arrivals in the Mediterranean reached a figure of 330 million tourists and is constantly increasing every year”. France, Italy, Greece, Spain and Turkey are the “driving forces” underpinning this trend and, “account for 80% of these arrivals alone”. Southern Mediterranean rim countries have experienced a fall or a very slight rise in the numbers of tourists, due to the political situation. According to a report distributed by the organisers, there are a number of debates arising that generally illustrate that, “prospects have proved even more positive in the north of the Mediterranean and some countries are in full expansion, such as Montenegro, where the number of arrivals rose by 22% between 1995 and 2012. Over the same period, Croatia made progress of 12.1%. In the south, efforts have been made such as in Egypt, where 136 million Egyptian pounds (€15.3 million were invested in the sector in 2014”. Sector professionals underline the need to further develop. One financial representative intervening in the debate explained, “there is a good side to the crisis. It compels us to rethink the economic model and review the ways in which this should be done”. (FB)