Published: November 15, 2007 06:51 am            

Muslim and green tourism seen as growth markets

Environmentally friendly ways to see the world

London — The world's largest travel fair opened with a strong focus on green issues Monday, highlighting the ever-increasing pressure on the tourism industry to promote environmentally friendly ways of seeing the world.

Other trends identified at the opening of the World Travel Market 2007 included the rise of tourism in the Middle East that follows Muslim precepts.

Algeria and Libya were tipped as new travel hotspots, while Australia retained its crown as the world's top "country brand" for the second year running.

Organizers of the four-day gathering in London's Docklands business district, being attended by tourism officials, government delegations, tour operators and airlines from more than 200 countries, put the focus squarely on the promotion of sustainable tourism.

The conference will host a U.N. World Tourism Organization summit on climate change on Tuesday ahead of the launch of the UNWTO's World Responsible Tourism Day on Wednesday.

Organizers will also hand out responsible tourism awards, and a panel discussion on whether wildlife tourism in India can save the tiger is just one of many green-themed talks.

Steve Ridgway, chief executive of Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd., said that the airline industry had made significant progress via technology and voluntary change to promote greener flying but has "done a bad job talking about it."

Mike Forster, director for strategy and development at British airports operator BAA, reiterated his support for a European Union plan for airlines to join an emissions trading system.

Among other trends for the industry, a Euromonitor International report highlighted the potential for a boom in "Halal" tourism, which follows Islamic rules. It forecasts 66 percent growth in inbound tourists in the Middle East by 2011 to 55 million people.

Clement Wong, travel and tourism research manager at Euromonitor International, said that a large proportion of those visitors will be from other Middle Eastern countries, partly because of the difficulty of obtaining visas for Western Europe and the United States.

Wong said that there was a market for a Halal startup airline, such as the budget airline set up by the Vatican earlier this year to transport pilgrims to holy sites. A Halal airline could provide food prepared according to Muslim religious requirements, include prayers and provide separate sections for male and female travelers, he said.

"There is a dearth in the supply of Halal tourism products," he said, citing Dubai's Ice Bar, which is modeled on Western concepts but does not serve alcohol, as an example to be copied.

Wong added that North Africa is to become one of the world's tourism hot spots, with Libya and Algeria the latest countries predicted to have the potential to share in the boom that neighboring countries such as Morocco, Egypt and Tunisia are enjoying.

Australia was at the top of a separate Country Brand Index by FutureBrand, followed by the United States, Britain, France and Italy. The FutureBrand survey tipped Croatia, China and the United Arab Emirates as becoming major tourist destinations in the next five years.







Copyright 2007 The Associated Press.

        

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